Business Research: Business research plays an important role in an environment that emphasizes measurement.

Return on investment (ROI) is the calculation of the financial return for all business expenditures and it is emphasized more now than ever before. Business research expenditures are increasingly scrutinized for their contribution to ROMI.

Business research is a systematic inquiry that provides information to guide business decisions. The definition, as expanded by that used by the American Marketing Association, is provided in the slide. A process of determining, acquiring, analyzing, synthesizing, and disseminating relevant business data, information, and insights to decision makers in ways that mobilize the organization to take appropriate business actions that, in turn, maximize business performance

Several factors increase the relevance for studying business research. The growth of company Web sites and e-commerce presents new challenges. Stakeholders now have more information at their disposal and are more resistant to business stimuli. Competition is growing and coming from unexpected sources. There is more government intervention geared toward protecting its various publics through restrictions on business tools. Business managers have more variables to consider in every decision. The quality of theories and models in business is improving. Greater computing power provides the potential to get more data faster, integrate that data using warehousing, understand it using data mining, and analyze it using statistical tools.

Research methods are gaining wider acceptance in dealing with a wide range of business problems.

Hierarchy of Business Decision Makers

Exhibit 1-2 illustrates the hierarchy of business decision makers. In the bottom tier, most decisions are based on past experience or instinct. Decisions are also supported with secondary data searches. In the middle tier, some decisions are based on business research. In the top tier, every decision is guided by business research. Firms develop proprietary methodologies and are innovative in their combination of methodologies. There is access to research data and findings throughout the organization.

Exhibit 1-2 illustrates In the middle tier, some decisions are based on business research. In the bottom tier, most decisions are based on past experience or instinct. Decisions are also supported with secondary data searches. In the middle tier, some decisions are based on business research.

Characteristics of Good Research

Exhibit 1-8 presents the characteristics of good business research and also explains what managers should look for in research done by others. You might wish to discuss the concepts here, before you discuss who actually conducts researchor you might want to discuss who conducts research first, followed by this slide to summarize.