Table of Contents

About the Authors xix

Preface xxi

Acknowledgments xxiii

1 Introduction to research 1

Introduction 1

Business research 2

The role of theory and information in research 3

Research and the manager 3

Types of business research: applied and basic 5

Applied research 6

Basic or fundamental research 7

Managers and research 8

Why managers need to know about research 8

The manager and the consultant–researcher 9

Internal versus external consultants/researchers 10

Internal consultants/researchers 10

Advantages of internal consultants/researchers 10

Disadvantages of internal consultants/researchers 11

External consultants/researchers 11

Advantages of external consultants/researchers 11

Disadvantages of external consultants/researchers 12

Knowledge about research and managerial effectiveness 12

Ethics and business research 13

Summary 13

Discussion questions 14

Case: The Laroche Candy Company 15

2 The scientific approach and alternative approaches to investigation 18

Introduction 18

The hallmarks of scientific research 19

Purposiveness 19

Rigor 19

Testability 20

Replicability 20

Precision and confidence 21

Objectivity 21

Generalizability 22

Parsimony 22

The hypothetico-deductive method 23

The seven-step process in the hypothetico-deductive method 23

Identify a broad problem area 23

Define the problem statement 23

Develop hypotheses 23

Determine measures 24

Data collection 24

Data analysis 24

Interpretation of data 24

Review of the hypothetico-deductive method 26

Some obstacles to conducting scientific research in the management area 27

Alternative approaches to research 28

Positivism 28

Constructionism 28

Critical realism 29

Pragmatism 29

Conclusion 29

Summary 30

Discussion questions 31

3 Defining and refining the problem 33

Introduction 33

The broad problem area 33

Preliminary research 37

Nature of information to be gathered 37

Background information on the organization 37

Information on the topic or subject area 38

Defining the problem statement 39

What makes a good problem statement? 39

Basic types of questions: exploratory and descriptive 43

Exploratory research questions 43

Descriptive research questions 43

Causal research questions 44

The research proposal 45

Managerial implications 47

Ethical issues in the preliminary stages of investigation 47

Summary 48

Discussion questions 49

4 The critical literature review 51

Introduction 51

How to approach the literature review 54

Data sources 54

Textbooks 54

Journals 54

Theses 55

Conference proceedings 55

Unpublished manuscripts 55

Reports 55

Newspapers 55

The Internet 55

Searching for literature 56

Evaluating the literature 56

Documenting the literature review 57

Ethical issues 59

Summary 60

Discussion questions 61

Practice project 62

Appendix 63

Some online resources useful for business research 63

Bibliographical databases 66

Apa format for referencing relevant articles 66

Referencing and quotation in the literature review section 69

5 Theoretical framework and hypothesis development 71

Introduction 71

The need for a theoretical framework 72

Variables 72

Dependent variable 73

Independent variable 74

Moderating variable 75

The distinction between an independent variable

and a moderating variable 77

Mediating variable 79

How theory is generated 81

The components of the theoretical framework 82

Hypothesis development 83

Definition of a hypothesis 84

Statement of hypotheses: formats 84

If–then statements 84

Directional and nondirectional hypotheses 84

Null and alternate hypotheses 85

Managerial implications 90

Summary 91

Discussion questions 92

Practice project 94

6 Elements of research design 95

Introduction 95

The research design 95

Elements of research design 96

Research strategies 96

Experiments 97

Survey research 97

Ethnography 97

Case studies 98

Grounded theory 98

Action research 98

Extent of researcher interference with the study 99

Study setting: contrived and noncontrived 100

Unit of analysis: individuals, dyads, groups, organizations, cultures 102

Time horizon: cross-sectional versus longitudinal studies 104

Cross-sectional studies 104

Longitudinal studies 105

Mixed methods 106

Trade-offs and compromises 107

Managerial implications 108

Summary 108

Discussion questions 109

7 Interviews 111

Introduction 111

Primary data collection methods 111

Interviews 113

Unstructured and structured interviews 113

Unstructured interviews 113

Structured interviews 115

Review of unstructured and structured interviews 116

Training interviewers 116

Some tips to follow when interviewing 117

Establishing credibility and rapport, and motivating individuals to respond 117

The questioning technique 118

Review of tips to follow when interviewing 119

Face-to-face and telephone interviews 119

Face-to-face interviews: advantages and disadvantages 120

Telephone interviews: advantages and disadvantages 120

Additional sources of bias in interview data 120

Computer-assisted interviewing 120

CATI and CAPI 121

Software packages 121

Group interviews 121

Focus groups 121

Expert panels 122

Advantages and disadvantages of interviews 123

Summary 123

Discussion questions 124

8 Data collection methods: Observation 126

Introduction 126

Definition and purpose of observation 127

Four key dimensions that characterize the type of observation 127

Controlled versus uncontrolled observational studies 127

Participant versus nonparticipant observation 128

Structured versus unstructured observational studies 128

Concealed versus unconcealed observation 129

Two important approaches to observation 130

Participant observation: introduction 130

The participatory aspect of participant observation 130

The observation aspect of participant observation 131

What to observe 133

Structured observation: introduction 134

The use of coding schemes in structured observation 136

Advantages and disadvantages of observation 137

Summary 139

Discussion questions 140

9 Administering questionnaires 142

Introduction 142

Types of questionnaires 142

Personally administered questionnaires 143

Mail questionnaires 143

Electronic and online questionnaires 143

Guidelines for questionnaire design 145

Principles of wording 146

Content and purpose of the questions 146

Language and wording of the questionnaire 146

Type and form of questions 146

Sequencing of questions 149

Classification data or personal information 149

Principles of measurement 150

General appearance or “getup” of the questionnaire 150

Review of questionnaire design 154

Pretesting of structured questions 155

Electronic questionnaire and survey design 155

International dimensions of surveys 155

Special issues in instrumentation for cross-cultural research 156

Issues in cross-cultural data collection 156

Review of the advantages and disadvantages of different data collection methods and when to use each 157

Multimethods of data collection 158

Managerial implications 159

Ethics in data collection 159

Ethics and the researcher 159

Ethical behavior of respondents 160

Summary 160

Discussion questions 161

10 Experimental designs 165

Introduction 165

The lab experiment 167

Control 168

Manipulation 168

Controlling the contaminating exogenous or “nuisance” variables 170

Matching groups 170

Randomization 170

Internal validity of lab experiments 171

External validity or generalizability of lab experiments 171

The field experiment 172

External and internal validity in experiments 172

Trade-off between internal and external validity 172

Factors affecting the validity of experiments 173

History effects 173

Maturation effects 174

Testing effects 174

Selection bias effects 175

Mortality effects 175

Statistical regression effects 176

Instrumentation effects 176

Identifying threats to validity 177

Review of factors affecting internal and external validity 178

Types of experimental design and validity 179

Quasi-experimental designs 179

Pretest and posttest experimental group design 179

Posttests only with experimental and control groups 179

Time series design 180

True experimental designs 181

Pretest and posttest experimental and control group design 181

Solomon four-group design 181

Double-blind studies 183

Ex post facto designs 184

Simulation 184

Ethical issues in experimental design research 185

Managerial implications 186

Summary 187

Discussion questions 189

Appendix: Further experimental designs 190

The completely randomized design 190

Randomized block design 191

Latin square design 191

Factorial design 192

11 Measurement of variables: Operational definition 193

Introduction 193

How variables are measured 193

Operational definition (operationalization) 195

Operationalization: dimensions and elements 196

Operationalizing the (multidimensional) concept of achievement motivation 197

Dimensions and elements of achievement motivation 198

What operationalization is not 202

Review of operationalization 203

International dimensions of operationalization 204

Summary 204

Discussion questions 205

12 Measurement: Scaling, reliability and validity 206

Introduction 206

Four types of scales 207

Nominal scale 207

Ordinal scale 208

Interval scale 209

Ratio scale 209

Ordinal or interval? 210

Review of scales 212

Rating scales 213

Dichotomous scale 213

Category scale 214

Semantic differential scale 214

Numerical scale 214

Itemized rating scale 215

Likert scale 215

Fixed or constant sum scale 216

Stapel scale 216

Graphic rating scale 217

Consensus scale 218

Other scales 218

Ranking scales 218

Paired comparison 218

Forced choice 218

Comparative scale 219

International dimensions of scaling 219

Goodness of measures 220

Item analysis 220

Validity 220

Content validity 221

Criterion-related validity 221

Construct validity 222

Reliability 223

Stability of measures 224

Internal consistency of measures 224

Reflective versus formative measurement scales 225

What is a reflective scale? 225

What is a formative scale and why do the items of a formative scale not necessarily hang together? 225

Summary 226

Discussion questions 227

Appendix: Examples of some measures 229

Measures from behavioral finance research 229

Measures from management accounting research 230

Measures from management research 230

Measures from marketing research 232

13 Sampling 235

Introduction 235

Population, element, sample, sampling unit, and subject 236

Population 236

Element 237

Sample 237

Sampling unit 237

Subject 237

Sample data and population values 237

Parameters 238

Representativeness of Samples 238

Normality of Distributions 238

The sampling process 239

Defining the population 240

Determining the sample frame 240

Determining the sampling design 240

Determining the sample size 241

Executing the sampling process 241

Probability sampling 242

Unrestricted or simple random sampling 242

Restricted or complex probability sampling 243

Systematic sampling 243

Stratified random sampling 244

Cluster sampling 246

Double sampling 247

Review of probability sampling designs 247

Nonprobability sampling 247

Convenience sampling 247

Purposive sampling 248

Judgment sampling 248

Quota sampling 248

Review of nonprobability sampling designs 249

Intermezzo: examples of when certain sampling designs would be appropriate 252

Simple random sampling 252

Stratified random sampling 252

Systematic sampling 253

Cluster sampling 254

Area sampling 254

Double sampling 255

Convenience sampling 255

Judgment sampling: one type of purposive sampling 255

Quota sampling: a second type of purposive sampling 256

Issues of precision and confidence in determining sample size 257

Precision 257

Confidence 258

Sample data, precision, and confidence in estimation 258

Trade-off between confidence and precision 259

Sample data and hypothesis testing 260

The sample size 261

Determining the sample size 262

Sample size and type II errors 264

Statistical and practical significance 264

Rules of thumb 264

Efficiency In Sampling 265

Sampling as related to qualitative studies 265

Managerial implications 266

Summary 266

Discussion questions 268

14 Quantitative data analysis 271

Introduction 271

Getting the data ready for analysis 273

Coding and data entry 273

Coding the responses 273

Data entry 275

Editing data 276

Data transformation 277

Getting a feel for the data 278

Frequencies 279

Bar charts and pie charts 280

Measures of central tendency and dispersion 282

Measures of central tendency 282

Measures of dispersion 283

Relationships between variables 285

Relationship between two nominal variables: -2 test 285

Correlations 286

Excelsior enterprises: descriptive statistics part 1 287

Testing the goodness of measures 289

Reliability 289

Excelsior Enterprises: checking the reliability of the multi-item measures 290

Validity 292

Excelsior enterprises: descriptive statistics part 2 293

Summary 296

Discussion questions 297

15 Quantitative data analysis: Hypothesis testing 300

Introduction 300

Type I errors, type II errors, and statistical power 301

Choosing the appropriate statistical technique 302

Testing a hypothesis about a single mean 302

Testing hypotheses about two related means 305

Testing hypotheses about two unrelated means 309

Testing hypotheses about several means 311

Regression analysis 312

Standardized regression coefficients 315

Regression with dummy variables 315

Multicollinearity 316

Testing moderation using regression analysis: interaction effects 316

Other multivariate tests and analyses 319

Discriminant analysis 319

Logistic regression 319

Conjoint analysis 320

Two-way ANOVA 322

MANOVA 322

Canonical correlation 322

Excelsior enterprises: hypothesis testing 323

Overall interpretation and recommendations to the president 325

Data warehousing, data mining, and operations research 326

Some software packages useful for data analysis 327

Summary 328

Discussion questions 329

16 Qualitative data analysis 332

Introduction 332

Three important steps in qualitative data analysis 332

Data reduction 334

Data display 347

Drawing conclusions 347

Reliability and validity in qualitative research 348

Some other methods of gathering and analyzing qualitative data 350

Content analysis 350

Narrative analysis 350

Analytic induction 350

Big data 351

Summary 351

Discussion questions 352

17 The research report 353

Introduction 353

The written report 354

The purpose of the written report 354

The audience for the written report 356

Characteristics of a well-written report 356

Contents of the research report 357

The title and the title page 357

The executive summary or abstract 357

Table of contents 358

List of tables, figures, and other materials 359

Preface 359

The authorization letter 360

The introductory section 360

The body of the report 360

The final part of the report 361

References 361

Appendix 363

Oral presentation 363

Deciding on the content 364

Visual aids 364

The presenter 365

The presentation 365

Handling questions 365

Summary 366

Discussion questions 367

Appendix: Examples 368

Report 1: sample of a report involving a descriptive study 368

Report 2: sample of a report offering alternative solutions and explaining the pros and cons of each alternative 371

Report 3: example of an abridged basic research report 373

A Final Note to Students 377

Statistical Tables 379

Glossary 389

Bibliography 399

Index 407