Business Research
Process Design
Introduction
Research is all about finding something, the absence of which
may distort our ability to take informed decisions (Nwokah et
al., 2009).
The ability to take an informed decision is generated through a
systematic study that is conducted through various interrelated
stages.
All the steps in a research are interrelated and no independent
activity is launched without considering the decisions on the
previous stages.
One has to really understand that, from problem identification
to presentation of findings, every step is interlinked and
interrelated.
Business Research Process Design
A research design is the detailed blueprint used to guide a
research study towards its objective.
A good research is conducted using 10 steps:
1. Problem or opportunity identification
2. Decision maker and business researcher meeting to discuss the
problem and opportunity dimensions
3. Defining the management problem and subsequently the research
problem
4. Formal research proposal and introducing the dimensions of the
problem
5. Approaches to research
6. Field work and data collection
7. Data preparation and data entry
8. Performing data analysis
9. Interpretation of result and presentation of findings
10. Management decision and its implementation.
Figure 2.1: Business research process design
Step 1: Problem or Opportunity Identification
The process of business research starts with the problem or
opportunity identification.
Actually, the management of the company identifies the problem
or opportunity in the organization or in the environment. The
management can identify the symptoms or the effects of the
problem, but to understand the reasons of the problems, a
systematic research has to be adopted.
This required research should either be executed by a business
research firm or a business researcher.
Step 2: Decision Maker and Business
Researcher Meeting to Discuss the Problem or
Opportunity Dimensions
The decision maker contacts the business research firm and
then discusses the problem or opportunity with the business
researcher.
The researcher can only suggest solution to a problem, but the
actual decision is taken by the decision maker.
Step 3: Defining the Management Problem and
Subsequently the Research Problem
The management problem is concerned with the decision
maker and is action oriented in nature. For example, the
management problem offers a psychological pricing to enhance
the quantum of sales. This management problem focuses on the
symptoms.
Research problem is somewhat information oriented and
focuses mainly on the causes and not on the symptoms. This is
to determine the consumer’s opinion on psychological pricing
and to estimate their purchase behaviour for the psychological
price being offered.
Step 4: Formal Research Proposal and
Introducing the Dimensions to the Problem
Now, the researcher prepares a formal proposal of
the research and develops the approaches to the
research problem. The first part is to develop a
theoretical model to quantify an attitude.
For example, to estimate the “buying intentions”
for a particular product, first, the researcher has to
prepare a theoretical model to measure an attitude
like buying intentions.
Figure 2.2 : Theoretical model to measure the buying intention
Framing Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1: “Brand image” has a significant liner impact on the
buying intention.
Hypothesis 2: “Brand awareness” has a significant liner impact
on the buying intention.
Hypothesis 3: “Price” has a significant liner impact on the buying
intention.
Hypothesis 4: “Availability” has a significant liner impact on the
buying intention.
Hypothesis 5: “After-sales services” has a significant liner impact
on the buying intention.
The researcher can also test the combined impact of these five
variables on the buying intention. The proposed multiple
regression model will be
Hypothesis 6: All the five factors in combination have a
significant linear impact on the buying intention.
Step 5: Approaches to Research
The research approach is formulated is the next step.
In the light of the “type of data,” questions are framed and
scientifically placed in the questionnaire.
This chapter is based on the research design formulation,
Chapter 3 deals with measurement and scaling, Chapter 4 with
the aspects of the questionnaire design in detail, and as a next
step, a sample size is determined and a sampling technique is
selected in Chapter 5.