Introduction
The concept of business research is very dynamic and congruent in any business environment. The aspect of business research involves strategic inquiry into a phenomenon in order to establish the reality or evidence that might have catalyzed the situation. In the contemporary business environment, the aspect of business research has become the pillar that supports decision making in different departments in an organization. Before engaging in proactive business research, it is imperative to identify the underlying goals to give the outcome of the research a focused approach. As a matter of fact, business research as a determinant of successful decision making in the business environment is informed by its focus on fact finding mission. This research proposal will attempt to explicitly establish the impact of business research on organizational performance and success at the local and global levels.
Literature Review
Elements of business research
Several authors have carried out research on the important of business research on organization performance. For instance, Yin (2011) noted that successful business research is determined by its ability to integrate objectives and aims that are focused within a definite research question. According to Smithson (2008), there are several types of business research such as survey, experiment, and observation. However, Smithson (2008) is categorical that businesses at local and global levels often prefer research survey because of its authenticity, real time data, and ability to be customized to fit in different situations. Besides, research survey allows “for extensive probing by the interviewer and gives respondents the ability to elaborate their answers” (Smithson, 2008, p. 162). The most predominant research survey methods ate telephone, face-to-face, web, and mail. Yin (2011) further noted that systematic sampling approach is ideal when there is equal and strategic representation of the sample space, thus authentic outcome. In order to guarantee relevance of the inductive and deductive logic in research, there is a need to organize and execute comprehensive data collection via series of statistical tools that support quantitative and qualitative analysis. Specifically, in the business research, Yin (2011) noted that the objectiveness of the research process lies in its ability to integrate sensible figures and values to interpret the phenomenon under surveillance. This can be achieved through consistency and objectivity to minimize the detrimental effects of research biases. For instance, validity and reliability of the research outcome is determined by the level of adherence to the research ethics such as professionalism on the side of the researcher and seeking and respecting the content of the consent forms signed by the participants.
Significance of business research at local and global business field
At local and international business environments, organizations have created the special research and development departments that might different names with similar job description. The department is often allocated the role of modifying markets, products and services, and other business aspects that through progressive and strategic research. In the last three decades, business research has become a significant determinant of organizational effectiveness, since it dictates the perception, quality, and sustainability of different performance determinants. For instance, according to Rhim and Lee (2013), in a typical production business environment, business research is laden with benefits such as refining products, distribution network, designing the competitiveness module, and tracking the customer demand among others. These benefits are expounded below.
Testing a new product
Through strategic business research, an organization interested in piloting a new product might generate accurate statistics in terms of product potential and competitiveness to avoid imminent product rejection by customers. According to Bowden (2009), business research reviews the product features that might appeal to customers to avoid a scenario of unpredictable product performance since a company will modify the product or service within the recommendations made through business research (Lee & Emile, 2011). Therefore, it is in order to categorically conclude the market research determines the level of product acceptance since it integrates the aspects of market demand, customer preference, competitive pricing, and other dynamics that are likely to control the targeted market.
Framing an adequate distribution network
Irrespective of the size of a business entity, marketing research might create systems that guarantee efficiency, sustainability, and adequacy of the market distribution network. In practical application, a business might execute strategic research with the market agents such as those who retail its products to generate data on level of efficiency as a strategy for creating frameworks for adjusting performance, based on the findings (Lee & Emile, 2011). In addition, a business might carry out survey with the customers to establish their opinion on the scope and reliability of the current distribution network and general company visibility. The data derived from such research can be integrated in the efficiency trackers to ensure short-term and long-term business sustainability. According to Osterman (2010), a business interested in improving its distribution network might use the real-time data obtained from customer survey to create a more dynamic and market oriented network that incorporates the desires of clients and other stakeholders.
Measuring the effectiveness of different promotional strategies
In the dynamic business environment, it is very involving to accurately measure promotional strategies adopted by a company, in terms of their effectiveness. Often, companies invest a lot of resources in creating promotional strategies such as advertisements. According to Rhim and Lee (2013), customer feedbacks are the ideal tool which can be used to modify the advertisements strategies in a company. Since most the feedbacks are real-time, the data collected through research is often very accurate and objective. Thus, a company interested in improving its promotional strategies should incorporate the opinion of the customers in designing effective advertisements that would appeal to the targeted audience.
Studying competition
Business research can be employed by companies across the globe to track the competition trends, especially for the primary competitors. For instance, Osterman (2010) noted that using secondary research to study the competitors might give a business the head start. For instance a software vendor might activate secondary research to track the number of customers purchasing its products against the number buying the products of other competitors in terms of percentages. The findings can be used to generate competitive advantage strategies that might result in increased market share (Smithson, 2008) through successful strategies for countering competition.
Planning for the future
Companies across the globe have always executed short-term and long-term business research as a strategy for sustainable growth and expansion strategies. For instance, if a company fails to meet its set targets, it may roll out market research to establish the potential reasons (Lee & Emile, 2011). The results of such survey can be used by the company to establish a strategic turnaround map to guarantee business sustainability and general competitiveness.
From the above literature review, it is clear that business research plays a critical role towards successful functionality. Specifically, business research has benefits such as guaranteeing competitiveness, product success, and effective product promotion strategies. Besides, a business can use results of a business research survey to create or remodel its distribution network to be more effective. The findings indicate that business research is an important aspect of organizational management.
Research problem
From the above literature review, there is need to explore the significance of business research in facilitating business success. This is necessary because business research determines the positioning and sustainability of a business. Therefore, this research paper will endeavor to expound on the current knowledge on the significance of business research on organization success. Specifically, the research paper will attempt to establish how business research in an organization determines the general performance in terms of product testing, creating strategic distribution network, tracking competition, and future planning.
Hypothesis, Research Plan, and Data Collection
The research will be conducted to determine the relationship between business research and organizational success. The null and alternative hypotheses are summarized below.
Research hypothesis
- H1o. There is a link between the success of an organization and the type of business research strategies that are put in place
- H1a. There is no link between the success of an organization and the type of business research strategies that are put in place
Research Plan
The data used in this research was collected from 200 respondents. The respondents consisted of males and females above the age of 20 years. The research applied snowballing as a simple random sampling strategy to categorize the target population and sample size. The researcher used the following formula to calculate the sample size.
- n=N/ (1+N (e2))
Where:
- n = sample size
- N= Target population
- e= Degree of freedom
- n=200/ (1+200*0.052)
- n=200/1.075
- n= 187.907
(Source: Yin, 2011)
The researcher permitted a margin era of less than 2.5%, which is ideal for ensuring that the data collected is very reliable. The data collected for the study was tested at 99% confidence interval to indicate some level of consistency in the findings as logically deduced (Yin, 2011). The researcher used the SPSS tool and ANOVA to derive the Z-score within the current margin of era and confidence interval. The confidence interval was derived as follows:
- Sample statistic + Z value * standard error / √n
b1 = 7.1175 ± 2.57 * 0.9631 / √133
= 7.1175 ± 2.57 * 0.9631 / 11.5326
= 7.1175 ±0.2146
= 6.9029 ≤ b1 ≤ 7.3321
- At 95%
b1 = 7.1175 ± 1.96 * 0.9631 / √133
= 7.1175 ± 1.96 * 0.9631 / 11.5326
= 7.1175 ± 0.1635
= 6.954 ≤ b1 ≤ 7.281
- At 90%
b1 = 7.1175 ± 1.64 * 0.9631 / √133
= 7.1175 ± 1.64 * 0.9631 / 11.5326
= 7.1175 ± 0.1368
= 6.981 ≤ b1 ≤ 7.254
As indicated in the above calculation, the confidence intervals were estimated at 6.981 ≤ b1 ≤ 7.254 of 90%, 6.954 ≤ b1 ≤ 7.281 of 95%, and 6.9029 ≤ b1 ≤ 7.3321 of 99%.
Data collection
Data collection was carried through online questionnaire emailed to the respondents. Data collected was then coded and passed through the SPSS tool for further analysis. In the process, the researcher used cross tabulation to carry out comparative analysis of the dependent and independent variables (Yin, 2011). Besides, the analysis was summarized in charts, tables, and figure to represent the existing correlation as discussed in the next chapter. The use of questionnaire in data collection was informed by its ease of administration, cost-effectiveness, and ease of interpretation (Yin, 2011). Besides, the use of SPPS software was informed by the need for correlation analysis to test the null and alternative hypothesis.
Instruments of Data Collection, Ethical Considerations, Sample Selection, and Ethical Awareness
Instruments of Data Collection
The researcher used primary data collection method through questionnaire consisting of three closed ended questions. The respondents were emailed the questionnaires since all the respondents had an access to the internet. The data collected was tested for their relevance to the research topic. The independent variable of the study was business research while the dependent variables were business performance indicators such as product testing, creating strategic distribution network, tracking competition, and future planning. The questionnaire was planned within the five-point scale (Yin, 2011).
Ethical Considerations
The entire process of the research survey adhered to the ethical principles. The ethical principle applied by the researcher is inclusion of the informed consent form, which accompanied the questionnaires. The research also drafted a letter requesting for permission to carry out the research in the company of interest, which is this case is Company X. The researcher avoided including personal details of the respondents and the company where the study was carried out. The researcher made sure that the respondents were assured of their privacy and anonymity in identity. The researcher also made sure that the scope of using the collected data was within the accepted research ethics. In addition, the research was very professional and objective in the process of research and data coding (Yin, 2011).
Sample Selection and Ethical Awareness
The selection of the participants was based on their awareness of business research. The researcher chose a sample of 200 respondents within the research and development department of Company X. Since the researcher had vast experience in data collection, it was necessary to use the distinctive strategy to ensure that the research was credible. The responses were concurrently reviewed to maximize data transferability in the large sample space. In order to guarantee research dependability, the researcher provided detailed, sequential, and clear study design for data collection and analysis (Yin, 2011). In fact, each research element was congruently positioned to the research problem.
Findings within the hypothesis
Findings as Related to the Hypothesis
From the 200 respondents, the SPSS coding for different benefits of business research, standard deviation and rank were generated as indicated in the below for the four leadership styles.
From the above table, it is apparent that product testing was ranked at number one with highest mean (5.2939) followed by strategic distribution network (4.8559). The third position was held by tracking competition with a mean of 4.4896 with the least benefit being future planning with a mean score of 4.1757. To track the existing correlation between business research and organization success, a correlation analysis was carried out as summarized in table 1 below. The result indicates that company success is related to the business research strategies, with a correlation of 0.381, and significance value of 0.000, which is below 0.05 as summarized in the table below.
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
The ANOVA findings are summarized in the table below.
In the table above, the F-value is 4.21 while the P-value is 0.001. The null hypothesis will be accepted at the 99 % confidence level and this confirms that the level of business success is determined by business research application. However, it varies from one factor to another.
Using Ethical Awareness
The researcher avoided bias in data analysis and interpretation. The researcher made sure that the raw data was tested for usability before being declared admissible. Lastly, the researcher made sure that the data collected was protected and coded to keep any personal details discrete (Yin, 2011).
Conclusion
From the above study, it is apparent the business research has an impact on organization success. Different benefits of business research were weight on their impacts on organization success. Apparently, the benefit of product testing was ranked at the first place with the future planning having the least beneficial value. Through primary research by use of questionnaire, the researcher confirmed the null hypothesis that there is a link between the success of an organization and the type of business research strategies that are put in place.
References
Bowden, J. (2009). The process of customer engagement: A conceptual framework. Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, 17(1), 63-74.
Lee, K., & Emile, T. (2011). A trust model for consumer internet shopping. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6(1), 75-91.
Osterman, P. (2010). Job design in the context of the job market. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(2), 401–411.
Rhim, H., & Lee, C. (2013). Assessing potential threats to incumbent brands: New product positioning under price competition in a multi segmented markets. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 22(1), 159-182.
Smithson, S, (2008). Analysing information systems evaluation: Another look at an old problem. European Journal of Information Systems, 7(3), 158-174.
Yin, R. (2011). Case study research: Design and methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.