Business Research for the 21st Century Chapter 1 Learning Objectives: Provide an orientation to modern day business research. Define business research and the people who use it. Discuss recent business trends and how they effect business research. Examine research related technologies. Introduce Samouel’s restaurant case analysis. Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Business Research . . . seeks to predict and explain all phenomena that taken together comprise the ever-changing business environment. . . . finds answers that (a) improve business performance, and (b) improve the lives of customers, employees and owners. Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Business Research . . . . is a truth-seeking function that gathers, analyzes, interprets and reports information so that business decision makers become more effective. Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Key Elements of Business Research Business research is broad. Business research can be formal. Business research can be informal. Good research is replicable. Good research should provide more benefit than it costs. Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Applied and Basic Business Research How will the acquisition of new vineyard property affect profitability of Martinelli Winery? Can prospective employee psychological profiles be used to reduce turnover at Sacred Heart Hospital? Basic What factors relate to consumer perceptions of a wine’s overall quality? Does job stress affect the job performance and satisfaction of male and female service providers? Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Who Uses Business Research? High Tech Firms Low Tech Firms Manufacturing Service Not for Profits Charitable Organizations Government Organizations Law makers Courts Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Business Research Trends Impacting Business Research Go On-Line www.tamtam.com Relationship Marketing International Research Expanding Market Freedom Trends Impacting Business Research Information Revolution Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Information Revolution and Research Electronic Communication Networking Data Warehouse “Off the shelf” data Organizational Learning Satellite Technology Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

What do these acronyms mean? Go On-Line www.technology.com PUSH SMART ATM ASP LATEX Crypto Rage PATROL Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

The KDD process involves the following steps: Go On-Line www.dogpile.com Establishing access to relevant data; Selecting the set of events (data) to be analyzed; Cleaning this data so it is understood by the algorithm; Developing and using rules for selecting interesting relationships; and Developing a report of relationships that may affect firm performance. Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

How the information age is affecting researchers and decision makers: Matter matters less. Distance matters less. Time matters more. Customization matters more. People matter more. Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Business Research Go On-Line www.autonomy.com What is located on this website that is of value to business researchers? Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Internal Versus External Researchers? Hire outside consultant/researchers? Does the research require special expertise? Can employees be objective? Are new insights desired? Perform research “in-house?” Do we want to save time? Is close employee collaboration required? Do we want to save money? Will we need to follow up on the results? Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Research Proposals A formal written proposal is the result of interactions between a client and a researcher. It translates business concerns into research problems. An approach to solve the problem(s) is agreed upon (it involves performing research). Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Structure of Research Proposal Project Title. Background Information – specifies events leading up to request for the proposal to be prepared and submitted. Problem Statement and Research Objectives. Research Strategy and Methods – data to be collected, how it will be collected and analyzed. This summarizes steps that will be taken to achieve the research objectives. Nature of the Final Report to be submitted – specifies type and nature of report. Budget and Schedule. Qualifications of Project Consultants and Research Firm. Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Summary Provide an orientation to modern day business research. Define business research and the people who use it. Discuss recent business trends and how they affect business research. Examine research related technologies. Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Description of Employee Survey Variables Variable Description Variable Type Work Environment Measures X1 I am paid fairly for the work I do. Metric X2 I am doing the kind of work I want. Metric X3 My supervisor gives credit an praise for work well done. Metric X4 There is a lot of cooperation among the members of my work group. Metric X5 My job allows me to learn new skills. Metric X6 My supervisor recognizes my potential. Metric X7 My work gives me a sense of accomplishment. Metric X8 My immediate work group functions as a team. Metric X9 My pay reflects the effort I put into doing my work. Metric X10 My supervisor is friendly and helpful. Metric X11 The members of my work group have the skills and/or training to do their job well. Metric X12 The benefits I receive are reasonable. Metric Relationship Measures X13 Loyalty – I have a sense of loyalty to Samouel’s restaurant. Metric X14 Effort – I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that expected to help Samouel’s restaurant to be successful. Metric X15 Proud – I am proud to tell others that I work for Samouel’s restaurant. Metric Classification Variables X16 Intention to Search Metric X17 Length of Time an Employee Nonmetric X18 Work Type = Part-Time vs. Full-Time Nonmetric X19 Gender Nonmetric X20 Age Nonmetric X21 Performance Metric Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Description of Customer Survey Variables Variable Description Variable Type Restaurant Perceptions X1 Excellent Food Quality Metric X2 Attractive Interior Metric X3 Generous Portions Metric X4 Excellent Food Taste Metric X5 Good Value for the Money Metric X6 Friendly Employees Metric X7 Appears Clean & Neat Metric X8 Fun Place to Go Metric X9 Wide Variety of menu Items Metric X10 Reasonable Prices Metric X11 Courteous Employees Metric X12 Competent Employees Metric Selection Factor Rankings X13 Food Quality Nonmetric X14 Atmosphere Nonmetric X15 Prices Nonmetric X16 Employees Nonmetric Relationship Variables X17 Satisfaction Metric X18 Likely to Return in Future Metric X19 Recommend to Friend Metric X20 Frequency of Patronage Nonmetric X21 Length of Time a Customer Nonmetric Classification Variables X22 Gender Nonmetric X23 Age Nonmetric X24 Income Nonmetric X25 Competitor Nonmetric Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.