Business Research Techniques Summary Grasple 2023
Table of contents
Module 1: The research process ...................................................................................................................... 3
1. Why business research?.................................................................................................................................. 3
2. The stages of the research process ................................................................................................................. 4
Module 2: Theory forma7on pt. 1 ................................................................................................................... 4
1. A demarcated business problem..................................................................................................................... 4
2. Problem relevance .......................................................................................................................................... 4
3. Research quesBons ......................................................................................................................................... 5
4. WriBng: problem background ......................................................................................................................... 6
Module 2: Theory forma7on pt. 2 ................................................................................................................... 7
1. Literature review & Conceptual model ........................................................................................................... 7
2. WriBng: Literature review & conceptual model .............................................................................................. 8
3. Research hypotheses ...................................................................................................................................... 9
4. WriBng: Research hypotheses ...................................................................................................................... 10
Module 3: Research strategies ...................................................................................................................... 13
1. Three major research strategies ................................................................................................................... 13
2. CorrecBonal vs. Causal research strategies .................................................................................................. 13
Module 4: Data collec7on and Analysis ......................................................................................................... 14
1. How to structure a data set .......................................................................................................................... 14
2. Sampling ....................................................................................................................................................... 14
3. Measurement ............................................................................................................................................... 17
4. Choosing staBsBcal test ................................................................................................................................ 19
Module 5: Reliability and Validity.................................................................................................................. 20
1. Measurement reliability and validity ............................................................................................................ 20
2. Internal and external validity ........................................................................................................................ 21
Module 6: Survey Research ........................................................................................................................... 22
1. Polls vs. surveys ............................................................................................................................................ 22
2. Survey measures ........................................................................................................................................... 22
3. Survey mode ................................................................................................................................................. 23
4. Reliability and validity in survey research ..................................................................................................... 24
Module 7: Archival Research ......................................................................................................................... 26
1. Internal vs. external archival research .......................................................................................................... 26
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, 2. Piecing together archival data ...................................................................................................................... 26
3. Reliability and validity in archival research .................................................................................................. 26
Module 8: Experimental Research ................................................................................................................. 28
1. Lab vs. field experiments............................................................................................................................... 28
2. Experimental designs .................................................................................................................................... 29
3. Reliability and validity in experiments .......................................................................................................... 30
Module 9: Qualita7ve Research .................................................................................................................... 33
1. The basics of qualitaBve research................................................................................................................. 33
2. CollecBng primary qualitaBve data .............................................................................................................. 33
3. Validity in qualitaBve research ..................................................................................................................... 36
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,Module 1: The research process
1. Why business research?
"a systema,c process of tes,ng hypotheses through carefully executed data analyses that are
aimed to help a manager solve or minimize a problem."
The various elements of this defini,on.
1) Business research is a systema1c process. Business research consists of several dis,nct
but highly interrelated stages. It is systema,c because these stages are universally agreed
upon.
2) Business research tests hypotheses. Business research involves construc,ng testable
hypotheses. Whether a study starts with or without construc,ng hypotheses, it will of course
produce the same empirical findings. In a study without hypotheses, however, these findings
could be a mere coincidence rather than contribute to the understanding of the problem.
That is why business research typically forwards hypotheses.
3) Business research entails collec1ng and analyzing data. Business research is empirical.
Data can be collected in various ways, e.g., through surveys, experiments, extrac,on from
companies' internal databases (e.g., customer account informa,on) or government
databases (e.g., Centraal Bureau voor de Sta,s,ek; cbs.nl), web scraping, interviews, or
observa,ons.
4) Business research is meant to help managers make be>er decisions. BeMer decisions
are evidence-based decisions: decisions that rely on a thorough and painstaking assessment
of empirical data.
Managers (like all humans) are prone to cogni1ve biases. Cogni,ve biases are unconscious
thinking errors. They are an aMempt of our brain to simplify the complex world and speed up
decision-making. These biases lead managers to misinterpret informa,on. They nega,vely
affect the ra,onality and accuracy of their decisions.
Three of the most common cogni,ve biases that may affect managers' decisions are:
1. Confirma1on bias: refers to the tendency only to consider informa,on that agrees
with ("confirms") our preexis,ng beliefs. We cherry-pick the informa,on we consider:
we look for only the evidence that supports what we are already thinking and
disregard the rest. As such, we may become a prisoner of our own prejudices.
2. Availability bias: refers to a cogni,ve bias in which we decide based on readily
available informa,on, even though it may not be the best informa,on to inform our
decision. Informa,on that is more easily recalled (i.e., informa,on that is
more available because it is more vivid or recent) is assumed to reflect more frequent
and more probable events, while informa,on that is more difficult to bring to mind
(i.e., informa,on that is less available because it is less vivid or recent) is assumed to
reflect less frequent and less probable events. The availability bias thus leads us to
overes,mate events.
3. What-You-See-Is-All-There-Is (WYSIATI) bias: When evalua,ng whether there is a
rela,onship between an event and an outcome, we tend to no,ce what is 'present',
but we oWen forget to consider what is 'absent'. This tendency is referred to What-
You-See-Is-All-There-Is. Because of this cogni,ve bias, managers adopt opinions and
make decisions without examining all the data, which can easily lead to subop,mal
decisions.
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,Why should you be knowledgeable about BR?
In order to be able to PERFORM, STEER and EVAULATE business research.
2. The stages of the research process
Deduc,ve vs induc,ve research:
Deduc1ve: researcher first hypothesizes rela,onships between variables based on theories,
then tested using data (Data à theory)
Induc1ve: First make observa,ons (collect data), then try to find a paMern in these
observa,ons and develops a theore,cal framework based on this paMern. (Theory à Data)
The 7-step deduc,ve research process
1. Demarcate the business problem Albert Heijn’s online grocery delivery is not taking off
2. Formulate research ques,ons Which factors influence consumers’ adop,on of online
grocery delivery?
3. Develop the theore,cal framework Consumer’s demographics, compe,ng retailers’ offers...
4. Choose the research strategy Archival data
5. Collect the data Buy consumer panel data
6. Analyze the data Perform a logit analysis
7. Write a report Which variables are not significant?
Module 2: Theory forma5on pt. 1
1. A demarcated business problem
Step 1: Demarcate the business problem
A business problem needs to be demarcated or narrowed before it can be researched
Example: “Pfizer would like to increase its profits.” à is not well demarcated. There are
hundreds of paths that Pfizer could consider to increase its profits. For example, new product
introduc,ons may increase Pfizer's profits, but so could acquisi,ons, 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 so:-
selling new drugs to doctors leads to more prescrip>ons than hard-selling.”
2. Problem relevance
Relevance à Is it worthwhile
- Managerial relevance: Who benefits from having the problem solved?
Who benefits from having the problem solved?
• Managers (brand managers, supply chain managers etc), one company, one industry,
or mul,ple industries
• End users (consumers, investors, taxpayers)
• Public policy makers (government, EU)
- Academic relevance: has the problem not been solved previously?
• No research available at all, although the topic is important
• New context: prior research is available, but not same context
• Integrate scaMered research: rela,ve importance is not clear (Large vs small
companies)
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, • Reconcile contradictory research: Solve contradic,ons through introducing one or
more moderators.
3. Research quesAons
Step 2: Formulate research ques1ons
The central ques,on or problem statement. A good problem statement is:
1. An open-ended ques,on
An open-ended ques,on is a ques,on that cannot be answered by a simple yes or no. A
problem statement has to be phrased as an open-ended ques,on to avoid jumping to
conclusions before the research has been conducted.
Three ways of star,ng an open-ended ques,on are by the use of “what”, “how” and "to
what extent." Examples are:
- What is the rela,onship between ... and ...?
- How are ... and ... associated?
- To what extent does ... relate to ...?
2. That iden,fies the study's unit of analysis
The unit of analysis is the en,ty that the study wishes to say something about; it is
considered the focus of the study. The en,,es being studied are typically referred to as
the subjects.
- individuals, such as consumers, investors, or CEOs
- firms, such as publicly listed companies, mul,na,onals, or SMEs
- groups, such as boards of directors, alliances, or industries
- things, such as products, brands, or shares
- geographical units, such as ci,es, regions, or countries
A study's unit of analysis can be at a lower or a higher level of aggrega1on. For example:
• 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 collec,ve
group of students in each hall) rather than the individual student.
• If a study compares the average exam grade between several universi,es, then the
unit of analysis is the university.
The university level is a higher aggrega,on level than the lecture-hall level, which in turn is a
higher aggrega,on level than the student level.
Also in business research, the unit of analysis can be at a lower
or a higher aggrega,on level (as indicated in the image on the
right). For example:
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, 3. That is expressed in terms of (i) variables and (ii) rela1onships.
As the word implies, an important characteris,c of a variable is that it varies. This means a
variable must have at least two values or levels in a study.
Variables can vary in three ways:
1. Variables can vary across subjects
Example: A researcher would like to know whether adver,sing is more effec,ve for firms in a
service- vs a product-based industry. The variable industry type (service-based industry vs
product-based industry) varies across subjects (firms in this case). The type of industry that a
firm operates in does not change over ,me.
2. Variables can vary over 1me
a. 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 ,me.
3. Across subjects and over 1me
The problem statement: Expressed in terms of rela5onships
A problem statement expresses the rela1onship between at least two variables.
“What is the rela>onship between entrepreneurs' finance and marke>ng skills on their firms'
profitability?”
• This is an open-ended ques,on -- it cannot be answered by a simple yes or no.
• The problem statement is expressed in terms of three variables: (1) finance skills, (2)
marke,ng skills, and (3) profitability. All three variables vary across subjects
(entrepreneurs).
• The problem statement is expressed in terms of two rela,onships: (1) the rela,onship
between finance skills and profitability, and (2) the rela,onship between marke,ng
skills and profitability.
• The unit of analysis is clear: the entrepreneur.
- Most of the ,me, problem statements are not just formulated in terms of the rela,onship
between two variables, but also include how the rela,onship between these two variables
depends on a third variable (modera1ng effect).
- Research ques1ons are sub ques,ons that, collec,vely, represent the problem statement.
4. WriAng: problem background
Structure of problem background:
1. Framing the research.
2. The problem is then iden,fied in the next paragraph.
3. Formula,ng the study's aim: to address the iden,fied problem. The paragraph may then
elaborate on the aim of the study to arrive at the problem statement or research ques,ons.
4. The following (two or more) paragraphs highlight the academic and managerial relevance
of the research.
5. The background sec,on some,mes concludes by indica,ng the outline of the study.
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, Module 2: Theory forma5on pt. 2
1. Literature review & Conceptual model
Step 3: Develop the theore1cal framework:
1. providing a literature review: the purpose of a literature review is to provide a condensed
overview of the key studies on a par,cular topic.
2. presen,ng/visualizing the conceptual model: A representa,on of the research problem
that shows the variables and rela1onships. It explains which variables are included in a study
(and jus,fies why these are included) and how they relate to each other.
Dependent variables: the variable we try to explain or predict (criterion variable, DV)
Independent variables: affects the dependent variable posi,vely or nega,vely (predictor
variable, IV)
X MAIN EFFECT Y
(independent variable) (dependent variable)
Employee morale aWer merger Employee produc,vity
Salary levels Job sa,sfac,on
Number of new product introduc,ons Firm sale
Media1ng variables: a variable that explains the process that underlies the rela,onship
between X and Y. How or why does X affect Y? (=par,al media,on)
Indirect effect (full media,on)
X X
(independent variable) mediator (dependent variable)
Direct effect (par,al media,on
CEO communica,on employee morale employee produc,vity
Adver,sing spend brand liking purchase inten,ons
R&D spend nr of new products firm sales
Total Effect: Direct effect + indirect effect
Modera1ng variables: a variable that changes the strength and some,mes even the
direc1on of the rela,onship between X and Y. When/under which condi1ons does X affectY?
X MAIN EFFECT X
(independent variable) (dependent variable)
Adver>sing spend Sales
MODERATING EFFECT
Moderator
Recession
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