Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 RUNNING HEADER: PREPARING TO CONDUCT BUSINESS RESEARCH: PART 3 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 Nadyne Bozeman, Diane Dunne, Georgia Hairston, Jerry Harper and Tyson Charity RES/351 June 22, 2014 Instructor: David Lantz 1 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 Business research can provide valuable insight into consumer buying habits for instance. The research can allow for an organization to set them apart from competition. Preparing to conduct business research is important for the future of a company to ensure decisions that are implemented regarding things such as strategy, personnel, investments and marketing provide the results expected. Many variables have to be considered by an organization prior to implementing a decision. Executing business research allows a company to make the most informed decisions with higher levels of confidence. The business research process has many layers and can be extensive and time consuming. The steps in business research and testing include; defining the issue/problem/opportunity, defining research questions, hypothesis, variables, what ethical consideration need to made, define sampling population and method, define sampling frame, and size, define the statistical test and how results will be displayed then implemented. Research problem and purpose The purpose of the chosen research is to perform a methodical study in order to determine how Books R Us may increase sales revenue through marketing. The focus will be to uncover facts about product concept within the industry, pricing of services and advertising. Conducting effective research will require creating research questions and hypotheses that are measurable, well-defined, and useful in decision making, directly correlate and include all relevant questions. The research will allow Books R Us to reach new conclusions about marketing strategies (Cooper & Schindler, 2011, Chapter 1). Significance, scope, magnitude, and feasibility of finding a solution to the issue, opportunity, or problem 2 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 The purpose of the research is to test and validate economically feasible options on the Internet while reducing costs associated with print publishing needs. As the book publishing industry declines in print media, technology advancements have created opportunity for Books R Us to reach a larger, more diverse clientele. Maintaining a competitive advantage in the publishing industry will continue to be a challenge. However, awareness to customer needs and industry benchmark can help management maintain or increase brand image. Research hypothesis “A hypothesis is a specific statement of prediction. It describes in concrete (rather than theoretical) terms what you expect will happen in your study” (Trochim, 2006). Hypotheses are the plural of hypothesis and means that there are more than one statements of prediction. After reviewing the data that has been presented for Books R Us, as well as the case studies from some of their competitors, there are two hypotheses that should be tested to see if they can help to increase the sales for Books R Us. These hypotheses could also help to make Books R Us in their ability to compete with their competitors in the marketplace. The first hypothesis is creating and launching a Books R Us mobile app will help to increase sales because it gives a convenient option to the consumers and keeps Books R Us competitive with other booksellers in the industry. The second hypothesis is that Books R Us can make their business more appealing to customers by completing surveys for current, previous and potential new customers, to determine their needs and adjust accordingly to meet those needs. The purpose of the hypotheses given is to help to increase revenue for Books R Us. One of the most important variables that need to be considered is cost. The initial creation of a mobile app can be costly; however it could have a great return on investment depending on its success. In addition, once the app is created it would also have additional fees to advertise that 3 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 the mobile app is now an option. Some of the ways that this can happen is banner ads on the internet, banner ads on other mobile apps and even direct mailings to current and potential new customers. Research Variables A variable that needs to be considered in regard to surveying current, previous and possible new customers is that everyone that is sent a survey may not take the survey. This means that in order to make the survey a success, it would need to be completed by a wide variety of people. This means that there may need to be an incentive given for the completion of the survey, such as a discount on a purchase. Research Questions In order for business research to be effective exploratory questions are required. The goal is to optimize the marketing message to acquire more sales, therefore our research will center on product concept, usability, pricing and advertising testing. Research questions such as who are our customers, what are the customer’s demographics, what are their buying habits, what are their preferred purchasing channels, what do they know about Book R Us, what are their thoughts on pricing, and thoughts surrounding the current marketing technique of telemarking (Cooper & Schindler, 2011, Chapter 4). Research Design Exploratory research design best fits the opportunity identified for Books R Us in developing a mobile application. This research design would help to determine the profitability, usability, and pricing of adding a mobile app. The goal of this research entails the discovery of new ideas and insight towards solving the problem. In addition, the results may present evidence that is so overwhelming that a more sophisticated sampling procedure is unnecessary." (Donald 4 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 R. Cooper, p.385). Even though mobile apps are not a new concept to the general population, its use by Book R Us will be. The exploratory design would help them to understand their dilemmas, look at how other similar companies are using it, and gather as much information on the topic as possible (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). It would also assist in refining research questions in such a manner so that the situation is clearly identified leaving a possibility of new ideas and new assumption generation. The casual research design or the descriptive research design would not be the best choice for the mobile app for Books R Us because more exploration must first be completed. Descriptive research design is focused on identifying the size, form, distribution or existence of a variable. A descriptive research design is not a good fit because the who, where, when and why does not need to be answered. Casual research design is focused on understanding a phenomenon such as identifying the link between variables and eliminating other possibilities. It is used to establish cause-and-effect relationships between different variables. Causal research design is impractical until the team can identify which venues will increase consumer or author confidence in book sales directive. Until there is a better understanding and knowledge about using mobile apps descriptive and casual designs would not be effective. Until you know what you are working with, how can you describe or determine effect. The three types of research methods can be used but explanatory will provide better overall results. Instrument Selected Information should be collected through surveys, specifically outsourcing survey services. This would be more beneficial since the idea and process is new to Books R Us. A professionally trained survey team offers special advantages. They can provide a" trained research staff, centralized-location interviewing, focus group facilities, and computer-assisted 5 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 facilities" (Cooper & Schindler 2011 p. 265).They also have the software and computers systems for interviewing by phone and personally. Various surveys and interviews such as ordinal and interval should be used in the data collection process. A consideration for self-selecting surveys could be a good option because they may be administered on-line to a random population sample. Quantitative data collection should be used because it involves statistical data of issue, visual graphs, and charts (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). In addition, we can use ordinal as a way to measure the data collected and gauge the favorability of using the mobile app on a scale of 15. Sampling Method The primary goal is to gain insight from qualitative interviews such as perceived convenience or comfort level with 24/7 book availability. However, it is equally important to gain knowledge from quantitative survey to validate qualitative information with quantifiable data. Stratified sampling is required because survey intent is to represent previous/present Books R Us customers and potential customers. Then within each group we can randomly select survey respondents. This process would allow for each member of the population to have an equal chance of being selected as well as include a large population of consumers. This is also known as the probability method and is extremely accurate. Sampling Frame One sampling frame will be a list taken from Books R Us database of previous/present customers. When using a sampling frame of customers we must be mindful to exclude customers from the other on-line or in-store surveys. The other sampling frame would be respondents that opt to take survey on-line. This frame would be designed to be organized in a logical, systematic fashion. We would have developers designate what type of respondent we are looking to opt in 6 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 based on search history or internet selections. Both frames will include male & female respondents. There will not be a limitation to the demographics. Respondents in both frames will be over the age of eighteen years old but without a cap in age. A numerical identifier should be used for each customer. Sampling for consumer confidence surveys or current buying habits should be complete within one month. The potential future customers may take a while longer to survey and get answers. To achieve the maximum benefits of implementing a mobile app the sampling frame should be at least six months to one year, allowing time to communicate and educate mobile phone operators to the advantages of downloading the mobile app and track the financial effects to the company. Sample Size Potentially one of the toughest parts of research planning may be determining the appropriate sample size. The calculated sampling size will be based on the results of these three criteria; confidence level, confidence interval, and population. An exact population is generally approximate. ▪ Overall data analysis approach Statistical Test The statistical test that we have decided to use would be ANOVA, or analysis of variance. An ANOVA test is the “statistical method for testing the null hypothesis that the means of several populations are equal” (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). We chose an ANOVA test because it uses a single factor, fixed effects model to compare the effects of one factor on a continuous dependent variable. In our case, the single factor is the Books R Us app and the continuous dependent variable is the reasons for using the Books R Us app. Result Reporting 7 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 Prior to implementing a new mobile app marketing strategy to help increase sales for Books R Us, exploratory research into the book publishing industry is necessary to collect both independent and dependent variables currently missing in Books R Us data reporting system. The company would need to redesign their ROI and business intelligence system with business partners and customers with real-time data collection software. Changing the reporting system will allow Books R Us to reduce costs associated with print publishing (Appendix 2) but will enable Books R Us to benchmark performance to previous annual sales or industry average (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). The graph data in an excel spreadsheet for Books R Us Data (University of Phoenix, n.d.) clearly shows the company’s publishing service sales is the company’s core business. However, the services rendered are not fulfilling client or author expectations to sell books published. Various exploratory methods such as electronic customer satisfaction surveys and distributor partnerships will increase the validity of implementing a mobile app hypothesis on the Internet to business-to-business and business to consumer communities. Results will be displayed in a line or bar graph format. Graphs are more compact, precise and can have more impact on the audience versus other types of communication. Graphs can also incorporate your other senses such as sound or touch (printed). Ethical considerations When preparing to conduct business research, there are ethical considerations that must be taken into account. These are the “norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about our behavior and our relationships with others” (Cooper & Schindler, 2011, p. 32). Researchers and the activities used in the research should not violate non-disclosure agreements, break participant confidentiality, misrepresent the results, deceive people, but should avoid legal 8 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 issues. Breaches in these ethical codes of conduct could result in physical harm, pain, embarrassment, and loss of privacy for participants (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). The rights of participants are not the only ethical behavior to be enforced. Another consideration ensures that sponsors are given reports that have been conducted ethically. Researchers should follow ethical standards when designing the research process. The researcher and all assistants should also be sure their safety is protected as they follow the research design (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). The team, in return, must comply with the ethical codes while executing the research design. The opportunity for Books R Us to increase their profitability with new features, like mobile apps, using surveys or panels, should consider possible ethical concerns in their designs. The data gathered can be a valuable asset to forecast sales, evaluate programs, and listen to current, past, and future customers. However, the data, the participants, and the researchers should consider the sensitivity, the privacy, and the ethical policies involved (Howles, 2014). “Companies and organizations recognize the importance of data in decision making, analytics, and knowledge discovery” (Howles, 2014, p. 4). Ethical consequences should be considered when designing, collecting, and using the data. Conclusion Learning Team A identified an opportunity to increase book sales volume and increase profit by conducting exploratory research validating a marketing strategy by implementing mobile application to customers on the Internet. To test the hypothesis the team had to devise a research plan. The principles of business research were applied while developing varying explanatory hypotheses, creating research questions to determine variables needed and analyzing current data and industry information (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). 9 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 References: Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2011). Business research methods (11th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. 10