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Research Design and Implementation - Summary In this chapter the focus has shifted from the manager's problems and information needs—as expressed in the research purpose and objectives— to the strategic and tactical decisions that will achieve the objectives of the research approach. The various research approaches included qualitative research, surveys, observation, and experimentation. Tactical research design decisions include the choice of a research supplier, the questionnaire development, the design of the experiment, the sampling plan, and the anticipation of data analysis. Implementation involves a final cost-benefit check plus data collection, data analysis, and the development of conclusions and recommendations. An important distinction can be made between exploratory, descriptive, and causal research. Exploratory research, which tends to involve qualitative approaches such as group interviews, is usually characterized by ill-defined or nonexistent hypotheses. Descrip...

Research Design and Implementation - Research Proposal A research proposal describes a plan for conducting and controlling a research project. While it has an important function as a summary of the major decisions in the research process, it is useful for a number of other reasons. Administratively it is the basis for a written agreement or contract between the manager and researcher, as well as a record of what was agreed. As such it provides a vehicle for reviewing important decisions. This helps ensure that all parties are still in agreement on the scope and purpose of the research, and it reduces later misunderstandings. Frequently proposals are used to make a choice among competing suppliers and to influence positively the decision to fund the proposed study. For these latter purposes, a proposal should be viewed as a persuasive device that demonstrates the researcher's grasp of the problem and ability to conduct the research and also highlights the benefits of the study. ...

Research Design and Implementation - Research Tactics and Implementation Once the research approach has been chosen, research tactics and implementation follow: the specifics of the measurements, the plan for choosing the sample, and the methods of analysis must be developed. Measurements The first step is to translate the research objective into information requirements and then into questions that can be answered by anticipated respondents. For example, one of the objectives in the HMO study is to estimate probable demand for the proposed HMO. This means that information will be needed on (1) the respondents' overall evaluation of the proposed HMO, (2) their preference for the proposed HMO relative to their present health plan, and (3) their likelihood of adopting the new plan if it becomes available. As we will see in Chapters 7 and 8, there are many ways to ask questions to obtain this kind of attitudinal information. Once the individual questions have been decided, ...

Research Design and Implementation A research design is the detailed blueprint used to guide the implementation of a research study toward the realization of its objectives. The process of designing a research study involves many interrelated decisions. The most significant decision is the choice of research approach, for this determines how the information will be obtained. Typical questions at this stage are: Should we rely on secondary sources such as the census? What is more appropriate, an exploratory approach with group discussions or a survey? Is a mail, telephone, or personal interview survey better for this problem? Tactical research decisions are made once the research approach has been chosen. Here the focus is on the specific measurements to be made oi questions to be asked, the structure and length of the questionnaire, anc the procedure for choosing a sample to be interviewed. These tactical deci sions also are constrained by time and budget availability. So, before...

The Research Process - Summary The research process consists of a series of stages or steps that serve to guide the research project from its conception through to the final recommendations. An overview of the process and a detailed discussion of the research purpose and research objective were presented in this chapter. The following chapter will provide a discussion of the research design and implementation stages. Together, the two chapters will provide a structure for the rest of the book. The specification of the research purpose involves first the identification of the decision involved! its alternatives, and the timing and importance of it. Sometimes the decision is as general as "should our marketing program be changed?" In such cases it is also useful to specify the problem or opportunity that is motivating the research or the environmental surveillance objective. The purpose statement also should consider who the research users are. There are times in which the ...

The Research Process - Planning a New HMO To see how a research purpose and a set of research objectives are developed, we join a meeting that took place at the Fraser General Hospital in September 1988. The five doctors had a dilemma. They had spent a useful morning confirming that their hospital had the resources to operate a Health Maintenance Organization (the concept of an HMO is described in the boxed insert). These resources were substantial, as would be expected in a 1000-bed teaching and research hospital with a strong regional reputation. <em> WHAT IS AN HMO? There are two basic kinds of health coverage. The Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) is the best example of the prepaid group practice type. This involves fixed monthly payments directly to a group of doctors or clinic who are then responsible for all the health needs covered by the plan. The other is the insurance type which involves a company which collects premiums from subscribers who can go to any...

The Research Process - Estimating the Value of Information Before the research approach can be selected, it is necessary to have some estimate of the value of the information, that is, the value of obtaining answers to the research questions. Such an estimate will help determine how much, if anything, should be spent on the research. The value will depend on the importance of the decision as noted in the research purpose, the uncertainty that surrounds it, and the influence of the research information on the decision. If the decision is highly significant in terms of investment required or in terms of its impact upon the long-run success of the organization, then information may have a high value. However, uncertainty that is meaningful to the decision also must exist for the information to have value. If the outcomes are already known with certainty or if the decision will not be affected by the research information, the information will have no value. To illustrate and expand t...

The Research Process - Research Purpose Seldom will research problems come neatly packaged—with obvious information requirements, clear-cut boundaries and pure motives on the part of the decision makers. Instead, they are more likely to be poorly defined, only partially understood, and missing possible decision alternatives that should be analyzed. Launching a research study with such shaky inputs is a recipe for unusable findings and unhappy clients. It is in the best interest of both the researcher and the managers paying for the research to be sure the research purpose is fully understood. One of the hallmarks of a competent researcher is an ability to get to the heart of the management problem. Consider the seemingly straightforward request by the chairperson of an association of community merchants for a research project to help reduce the propensity of residents in the community to do their shopping in two nearby communities. Clearly the purpose of the research was to identi...

Information System Whereas marketing research is mainly concerned with the actual content of the information and how it is to be generated, the information system is concerned with managing the flow of data from many different projects and secondary sources to the managers who will use it. This requires databases to organize and store the information and a decision support system (DSS) to retrieve data, transform it into usable information, and disseminate it to the users. Databases Marketing information systems contain three types of information. The first is the recurring market and accounting data that flow into the organization as a result of market analysis research and accounting activities. For example, automobile firms use government sources for monthly data on new-car sales by brand and geographic area. In addition, surveys are conducted yearly to determine the age and type of automobiles currently driven, the lifestyles of the drivers (their activity and interest patt...

The Research Process - Overview of the Research Process Research studies evolve through a series of steps, each representing the answer to a key question: 1. Why should we do research? This establishes the research purpose, as seen by the management team that will be using the results. This step requires understanding the decisions to be made and the problems or opportunities to be diagnosed. 2. What research should be done? Here the management purpose is translated into objectives that tell the researchers exactly what questions need to be answered by the research study or project. 3. Is it worth doing the research? The decision has to be made here on whether the value of the information that will likely be obtained is going to be greater than the cost of collecting it. 4. How should the research be designed to achieve the research objectives? Design issues include the choice of research approach—reliance on secondary data versus conducting a survey or experiment—and the s...

A Desiscion-Making Perspective on Marketing research - Summary Marketing research links the organization with its market environment. It involves the specification, gathering, analyzing, and interpretation of the information "to help management undersíand- that*marîEëT environment, identify its problems marketing action. The marketing management process involves situation analysis, strategy development, marketing program development, and implementation. Each of these areas includes a host of decisions that need to be supported by marketing research information. Marketing research, to be effective, should be relevant, timely, efficient, accurate, and ethical. Among the participants in marketing research activities are information users; external information suppliers, such as the marketing research firms; and the information suppliers within the organization.

A Desiscion-Making Perspective on Marketing research - Marketing Research in Practice Marketing research is unquestionably a growth industry. Between 1978 and 1988 real expenditures on marketing research (that is, after adjusting for inflation) more than doubled! This is largely a consequence of economic and social changes that have made better marketing an imperative. With marketing the new priority, marketing research is the rallying cry. Companies are trying frantically to get their hands on information that identifies and explains the needs of powerful new consumer segments now being formed. Kroger Co., for example, holds more than 250,000 consumer interviews a year to define consumer wants more precisely. Some companies are pinning their futures to product innovations, others are rejuvenating timeworn but proven brands, and still others are doing both.5 Not only are those companies that always did marketing research doing a great deal more, but the breadth of research activi...

A Desiscion-Making Perspective on Marketing research - Successful Marketing Research: Some Guidelines All marketing decisions involve uncertainty, both in the information on which they are based and the forecasts of the consequences. We have emphasized—and will emphasize throughout this book—that successful marketing research is decision oriented. This means, first, that marketing research should be undertaken only when the results will reduce uncertainty and influence decisions. Indeed, there is no point in doing research if the decision maker isn't in a position to alter anything. More specifically, marketing research will make a contribution when it is relevant to current or anticipated decisions, timely, efficient, and accurate. At all times the research must maintain high ethical standards. Relevant Research Research should not be conducted to satisfy curiosity or confirm the wisdom of previous decisions. Relevance comes through support of strategic and tactical plan...

A Desiscion-Making Perspective on Marketing research - How Research Supports Marketing Decisions Marketing decisions involve issues that range from fundamental shifts in the positioning of a business or the decision to enter a new market, to narrow tactical questions of how best to stock a grocery shelf. The context for these decisions is the market planning process that proceeds sequentially through four stages: situation analysis, strategy development, marketing program development, and implementation. This is a never-ending process, so the evaluation of past strategic decisions serves as an input to the situation assessment. Figure 1-1 suggests some elements of each stage. During each stage, marketing research makes a major contribution to clarifying and resolving issues, and choosing among decision alternatives. The following sections describe these steps in more detail and describe the information needs that marketing research satisfies. Situation Analysis Effective market...

A Desiscion-Making Perspective on Marketing research - Budget Rent-A-Car Corporation In seeking growth opportunities in the car rental market against three dominant competitors, Budget uncovered a "professional care" segment who felt "that nobody cares about me anymore." The next question was: What kind of programs would be appealing to this segment? These examples could be multiplied by thousands, for virtually every private- and public-sector organization encounters the same pressures for more and better information about its markets. Whether the organization serves customers in competitive market environments or clients in a public-sector enterprise, there is a need to understand and satisfy the changing needs of diverse groups of people. This task is greatly complicated within the private sector by the nature of competitive action, which is relatively unpredictable and seldom in the best interests of the firm. Competition also exists in many parts of the pu...