module 2

Question 1

research process 7 steps

Answer 1

Demarcate the business problem (set the boundaries or limits of)
Formulate research questions
Develop the theoretical framework
Choose a research strategy
Collect the data
Analyze the data
Write a report

Question 2

When does a business problem occur

Answer 2

Despite the connotation of the term problem a business problem does not necessarily have to pertain to a companys difficulty.

A business problem occurs when a company encounters a threat (a difficulty to be eliminated) or an opportunity (a situation that might be improved)

Question 3

Demarcating a businss problem

Answer 3

A business problem needs to be demarcated or narrowed before it can be researched

Most business problems are highly complex. No single research study can fully examine everything. THe purpose of demarcating a business problem is to focus on a clearly defined portion of the bigger problem

Example
The business problem
Pfizer would like to increase its profits.

is not well demarcated. There are hundreds of paths that Pfizer could consider to increase its profits. For example, new product introductions may increase Pfizer’s profits, but so could acquisitions, or a change in selling strategy. It is impossible to research all possible paths. Hence, the problem is not well demarcated.

An example of a demarcated business problem is
Pfizer would like to know whether soft-selling new drugs to doctors leads to more
prescriptions than hard-selling.

Question 4

Two types of relevance exist:

Answer 4

1) academic relevance
2) managerial relevance

Question 5

Academic relevance

Answer 5

When a business problem as already been researched, the answer is already out there, in prior research studies. In such instances, a new research study into the same problem that has little added value and may not be worth the investment (in money and time)

Question 6

How to tell if something is academically relevant

Answer 6

1) Completely new topic
–> No research available at all, although the topic is important

2) New context
–> Prior researh is available but not in the same context

3) Integrate scattered research
–> E.g. different studies have focused on different IVs / moderators; consequently, their relative importance is not clear

4) Reconcile contradictory research
–> Solve the contradictions through introducing one or more moderators

Question 7

Managerial relevance

Answer 7

Someone should actually benefit from having the problem studied. A company, a set of companies (e.g. suppliers, retailers, high-tech companies, banks, …), and/or society at large (e.g. the government, consumers, NGOs, …) hsould benefit from the studys results

Question 8

Managerial relevance (who benefits from having the problem solved)

Answer 8

Managers (brand managers, supply chain managers, accountants, …)
- of one company
- of one industry
- of multiple industries

End users (consumers, investors, tax payers, …)

Public policy makers (government, EU, …)

Question 9

The central question or problem statement

Answer 9

The central question that a research study aims to anser also referred to as the problem statement

Question 10

A good problem statement is

Answer 10

1) an open-ended question
2) identifies the studys unit of analysis
3) Is expressed in terms of (i) variables and (ii) relationships

Question 11

Why/what open ended questions

Answer 11

Is a question that cannot be answered by a simple yes or no. A problem statement has to be phrased as an open eneded question to avoid jumping to conclusions beefore the research has been conducted

Question 12

A problem statement identifies the unit of analysis (what does this mean)

Answer 12

A problem statement should be clear about the unit of analysis of the study. The unit of analysis is the entity that the study wishes to say something about; it is considered the focus of the study. The entities being studied are typically referred to as the subjects.

Question 13

What can be the unit of analysis in a business study

Answer 13

Individuals (Consumers, investors or CEOs)

Firms (publicly listed companies, multinationals or SMEs)

Groups (Board of directors, alliances or industries)

things (products brands or shares)

Goegraphical units (cities, regions or countries)

Question 14

A study’s unit of analysis can be at a lower or a higher level of aggregation: for example

Answer 14

If a study is based on comparing students’ exam grades, then the unit of analysis is the individual student.
If a study is based on comparing the noise level between twenty different lecture halls full of students, then the unit of analysis is the lecture hall (that is, the collective group of students in each hall) rather than the individual student.
If a study compares the average exam grade between several universities, then the unit of analysis is the university.

Question 15

The problem statement: expressed in terms of variables

Answer 15

Variables are the core of every research study. As the word implies, an important characteristic of a variable is that it varies. This means a variable must have at least two values or levels in a study

Question 16

Take this headline from the Wall Street Journal:

P&G says prices will keep rising

P&G is reporting on the prices of its brands. Here, “price” is the variable. Its levels might go from 0,01 cents to whatever the price is of a P&G product.

Question 17

Variables can vary in three ways

Answer 17

1) across subjects
2) over time
3) across subjets and over time

Question 18

Constant

Answer 18

When someething that could potentially vary only has one level in the study

Question 19

Variables can vary across subjects (e.g., persons, products, firms, industries, countries, …), at the same point in time.

Answer 19

An example

A researcher would like to test whether advertising is more effective for firms in a service- vs. a product-based industry. The variable “service-based vs. product-based industry” varies across subjects (firms in this case). Whether a firm operates in a service-based industry or a product-based industry does not change over time (well, it might, but that is very rare).

Question 20

The second way in which a variable can vary is over time, within the same subject (a subject can again be a person, a firm, an industry, a product, …).

An example

Answer 20

In a study on the economic factors that affect firms’ R&D spending over the last ten years, “R&D spending” is a variable that varies over time.

Question 21

A problem statement expresses:

Answer 21

The relationship between at least two variables.

As such, a question such as:
What percentage of companies pay dividends? does not quality as a problem statement because it only involves one variable (dividend payment)

The most simple problem statement captures how one variable is related to another variable for example: How is package size related to young childrens consumption of sweets

Question 22

What is the relationship between entrepreneurs’ finance and marketing skills on their
firms’ profitability

Analyze

Answer 22

This is an open ended questions – it cannot be answered by a simple yes or no

The problem statement is expressed in terms of three variables (finance skills, markeing skillls and profitability. all three variables vary across subjects)

The problem statement is expressed in terms of two relationships: (the relationship between finance skills and profitability and the relationsihp between marketing skills and profitability

The unit of analysis is clear: the entrepreneur

Question 23

Moderating effect

Answer 23

the relationship between two variables that depends on a third variable

Question 24

Managers are typically not simply interested in the extent to which a variable x is related to another variable y but they want to:

Answer 24

Know the conditions under which x is related to y

For example: if social-media advertising is only related to brand sales for brands with particular characteristics (e.g. low priced brands), managers can allocate their social-media budget accordingly

Question 25

Research quesitons

Answer 25

Subquestions to be answered to avoid overly complex problem statements

Question 26

subquestions example

Answer 26

For example, the previous problem statement could be decomposed into the following smaller research questions (one question per type of relationship):

 1. What is the relationship between entrepreneurs' (i) finance skills and (ii)
 marketing skills on their profitability?

 2. How does the relationship between entrepreneurs' (i) finance skills and (ii)
 marketing skills on their firms' profitability depend on their (i) age and (ii) innovativeness?

Relationship 1: What is the relationship between entrepreneurs’ finance skills and
their profitability?

Relationship 2: What is the relationship between entrepreneurs’ marketing skills and their
profitability?

Relationship 3: How does the relationship between entrepreneurs’ finance skills
and their firms’ profitability depend on their age?

Relationship 4: How does the relationship between entrepreneurs’ finance skills and their
firms’ profitability depend on their innovativeness?

Relationship 5: How does the relationship between entrepreneurs’ marketing skills and
their firms’ profitability depend on their age?

Relationship 6: How does the relationship between entrepreneurs’ marketing skills
and their firms’ profitability depend on their innovativeness?

Question 27

Corrleation or causal language

Answer 27

We advise you to phrase your problem statement and research question using correlational rather than causal claims

Question 28

Correlational claims include

Answer 28

X is related to Y
X is associated with Y
Y increases/decreases when X increases

Question 29

Causal claims make stronger statements. They go beyond a simple association between variables and suggest that one variable causes the other. For example:

Answer 29

X impacts Y
X affects Y
X causes Y
X enhances Y
X decreases Y

Question 30

Background section structure

Answer 30

1) a background sections starts by framing the research
2) A problem is then identified in the next paragraph
3) The next step is to formulate hte aim of the study: it will attempt to address the identified problem. The paragraph may then elaborate on the aim of the study to arrive at the problem statement and research questions.

4) The following (two or more) paragraphs highligh the academic and managerial relevance of the research

5) The background sections sometimes concludes by indicating the outline of the study

Question 31

Framing the research

Answer 31

In the first paragraph of the introduction section, you have to put your problem into context. You can do so through numbers (e.g. the percentage of firms that are facing a particular problem or the dollor loss of a company is facing if it does not solve a specific problem) or examples (e.g. firms facing the problem)

Question 32

Identifying the problem

Answer 32

Use the next (one or two) paragraphs of the background section to introduce the problem that you are going to adress

You may wrap up this paragraph with your problem statement and research questions

To make a smooth transition to your problem statement/research questions, make sure this paragraph focuses on the variables of your study (and only those variables, i.e. do not bring up concepts unrelated to what you will not be investigating)

Question 33

Academic relevance (problem background)

Answer 33

use the following paragraph(s) to argue how your study contributes to what is already known in the existing literature. A study can contribute in more than one way to existing knowledge. If so, you could consider writing one paragraph per contribution

Question 34

Some ways in which a study can contribute to the academic literature are: (problem background)

Answer 34

A new topic: the topic has not been studied before

integrate scattered research: knowledge is scattered across multiple articles within the same discipline or across disciplines

Introduce moderators:
The main effect relationship may have been studied before, but the moderators may still be unknown. Introducing moderators is particularly interesting when they might explain why prior studies reported contradictory main-effect findings