1.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS RESEARCH
INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS RESEARCH
Joseph owusu, PhD

2.
Objectives
 To explain the concept of business research
 To discuss the hallmark of scientific research.
 To understand what issues are covered in research
ethics.

3.
Research

4.
Research

5.
Definition of Business Research
 Business research is an organized and systematic
inquiry or investigation into a specific problem
undertaken with the purpose of finding answers
and solutions to the problem.
 Thus research activities are consistent search for
information with the objective to get a clearer
picture concerning the causes of the problem and
the propose specific recommendations for the
solution

6.
Why is research required?
 It is because there is a ‘problem’ to be solved.
 The problem could be;
 The existing problem in the organisation (e.g.
declining sales, high customer complaints etc.)
 The problem could be an anticipated problem in
the future due to changes in lifestyles and
changes in socio-economic status would change
demand pattern or government policy.
 The theoretical gaps or knowledge gaps. Findings
from previous research might no longer hold due
to lapse of time, new research is required.

7.
Types of Business Research
 Basic/ fundamental / Pure research
This research is conducted to generate a body of
knowledge by trying to comprehend how certain
problems that occur in organisations can be solved.
Basic research is done to make contribution to existing
knowledge
 Applied/ Action research
Solves the current problem faced by the manager in
the working setting, demanding a timely solutions.
Thus research done with intention of applying the
findings to solve a specific problems.

8.
Examples of Basic Research
 The influence of environmental awareness on
consumer buying behaviour towards environmental
friendly products on green products in the market
 The relationship between employee job satisfaction
and the quality of service they provide to their
customers in service organizations.

9.
Examples of Applied research
 An empirical study to identify the main factors
considered by the customers when buying health
products in the market
 A study to assess the damage caused by the
recent flood on governments schools in the
country

10.
The Role of Research in Business 1of 2
 Making the right decision is an ideal practice in any
business whenever the organisation encounters a problem.
 A good organisation basically conducts research to resolve
the critical problems surrounding their business such as
 Competition
 Customer satisfaction
 Customer complaints
 Motivation
 Absenteeism
 New government policies affecting the industry

11.
The Role of Research in Business 2of 2
 Organisations face a lot of problems, in helping managers to
solve the management problems, the researcher will come
with
 The research problem
 Determine the research objectives
 Identify the relevant variables that may relate to the problem
 Collect data on the important variables
 Analyse the data to find the root cause of the problem
 The researcher writes a full report based on the data analysis
presenting the problem and the possible course of action in
order to tackle the problem.

12.
Why managers should know about research?
▪ Being knowledgeable about research and research
methods helps professional managers to:
Identify and effectively solve minor problems in the work
setting.
Know how to discriminate good from bad research.
Appreciate the multiple influences and effects of factors
impinging on a situation.
Take calculated risks in decision making.
Prevent possible vested interests from exercising their
influence in a situation.
Relate to hired researchers and consultants more
effectively.
Combine experience with scientific knowledge while
making decisions.

13.
Hallmarks of Scientific Research
 Hallmarks or main distinguishing characteristics of
scientific research:
 Purposiveness
 Rigor
 Testability
 Replicability
 Precision and Confidence
 Objectivity
 Generalizability
 Parsimony

14.
Purposiveness
 Research stated with a specific purpose
 Example: the purpose of this study is to enhance
productivity in order to increase employee’s and
organisation income.
 The purpose of this study is to examine how
culture diversity affects management practice in
international business.
 (Purposiveness in research refers to the researcher having a definite aim or purposive
focus for the study)

15.
Rigor
 Scientific research should have a good theoretical
base and a sound method.
 Means carefulness, scrupulousness and degree of
exactitude in research investigation.
 (Rigor is simply defined as the quality or state of being very exact or carefulness)

16.
Testability
 Testability is a property that applies to the
hypothesis of the study.
 A scientific research must have scientific
hypothesis that can be tested.
 Predicts what you expect to find in your empirical
data
 (Testability refers to the ability to run an experiment to test a hypothesis or theory)

17.
Replicability
 The extend to which a re- study is made possible
by the provision of the design details of the study
in the research report.
 Replicability is made possible by a detailed
description of the design details of the study such
as sampling method, data collection method etc.
 (Research is replicable when an independent group of researchers can copy the same
process and arrive at the same results as the original study)

18.
Precision and Confidence
 Precision – closeness of the findings to reality
based on sample or
 The degree of accuracy or exactitude of the
results on the basis of the sample to what really
exists in the world.
 Confidence: probability that our estimation are
correct
 (Example 95% result is true with 5% error) this is
what we called confidence level.

19.
objectivity
 The conclusion drawn through the interpretation of
findings should be objective
 Based on the facts of the findings derived from
actual data
 The more objective the interpretation, the more
scientific the investigation is.
 (Objectivity means as far as is possible, the researcher should remain distanced from
what they study. Thus no personality emotions, belief and values into the research)

20.
Generalizability
 Refers to the scope of applicability of the
research findings in one organisational setting to
other settings.
 The wider the range of applicability of solutions
generated by research, the more useful the
research is to the users.
(generalizability is a measure of how useful the results of a study are for a
broader group of people or situations)

21.
Parsimony
 Parsimony can be introduced with a good
understanding of the problem and important
factors that influence it.
 Such a good conceptual theoretical model can be
realised through a thorough literature review of
previous research work in the particular problem
area.
 (Parsimony is a simple model/ theory with a good explanatory power)

22.
The General Flowchart of a Research
Define and refine
the research
problem
State the research
objectives
Determine
relevant research
questions
Formulate relevant
research hypothesis
Collect data and
perform analysis
Interpret the
results and write
report

23.
Basic Ethics in Research
 Ethics in research refers to the code of conduct or
expected societal norms of behaviour of
researchers while conducting research. Ethical
conduct applies to
 The researchers themselves.
 The organisation involved in the research project
 The organisation sponsoring the research and
 Respondents who participate in the research

24.
Basic Ethical Principles in Research
 Maintenance of privacy- the work of the
researcher is confidential . The researcher should
not reveal the identity of the respondents
involved in the study. The data collected from
respondents should be kept confidential at all
times and should be used for the research at
hand.
 Coercion- the respondents are participating in the
study at their own will. Their response during
data collection should be free from any influence.
Even, the respondents are free to participate or
not participate in the study.

25.
Right to Privacy

26.
Ethical Treatment of Participants

27.
Basic Ethical Principles in Research
 Informed consent- the respondents should be
made to understand the rationale for the
research. They should agree to waive their right
to privacy when they participate in the research
activities.
 Sharing of findings- After the study has been
completed, the report should be presented to the
audience. The report should be made available to
be viewed by the respondents who participated in
the study.

28.
Components of Informed Consent

29.
Ethical Responsibilities