Slide 1
Business research (JNB508)
3/5/2018
1
Module 2
Introduction to business research
1
3/5/2018
2
Review: Module 1
Research:
A systematic and scientific approach to address a problem or a question or a test to a hypothesis.
Business research:
The application of the scientific method in searching for the truth about business phenomena (Zikmund et al. 2013, p.5).
It is an objective and systematic process of generating, recording and analysing information/data with a view to increasing knowledge in the field of business management.
Project:
Providing necessary support for research in terms of “money” (budget), manpower, and time commitment.
XXXXXXXXXXe.g. projects from Australian Research Council (ARC)
Project management:
It is a discipline that includes a specific body of knowledge as well as specialised set of tools utilised to meet the project requirement (Rosenau & Githens 2005, Larson & Gray 2011).
Program: A program is a collection of projects grouped together to get advantage from their combined management
2
3/5/2018
3
Source: ARC DECRA Instructions to Applicants 2018
3/5/2018
4
Source: Snapshot in ARC RMS system (https:
ms.arc.gov.au)
3/5/2018
5
Project life cycle- six stages
1 Conception- ideas (initiate industry-academia meeting)
2 Planning- design (proposal)
3 Production- physical reality (research work)
4 Handover- client (difficulty from client’s viewpoint)
5 Utilisation- client’s use
6 Closedown- dismantle (or further improvement)
Review: Module 1
5
3/5/2018
6
Identify and manage risks
What the risk is.
What is the likelihood of it occu
ing.
What the impact will be, if it occurs.
What its overall priority is.
Who is responsible for managing this risk
What the next action to resolve this risk is.
When any actions need to be completed.
What the cu
ent status of the risk is.
People died or injured (field experiments or data collection; hazardous chemicals, etc)
CI/PIs or other main researchers pass away or leave the project
Team members may not have the knowledge or skills they claimed they have
Research facilities, instruments, equipment and respondents involved in a survey are not always available
Data quality is not as ideal as you desire
The envisaged methods do not work well
The funding body or collaborators withholds the remaining budget
…
6
3/5/2018
7
Focus of Module 2
Why do we have to conduct (business) research? (Value of business research)
What types of business research do we have?
Process of business research
What is good research?
Business research and business intelligence
7
3/5/2018
8
Why business research?
Business research helps (in strategic, tactic and operational levels)-
to gain insights into (improve our understanding) business/management problems.
Example 1. During wartime with the risk of capture or peacetime with the possible attack risk from pirates, should we award the captain partial of the vessel ownership (incentive program) to improve his caring for the vessels and cargoes? (Silverman and Ingram, 2017, “Asset ownership and incentives in early shareholder capitalism: Liverpool shipping in the eighteenth century”, Strategic Management Journal)
Example 2. How are many factors (sailing speed, displacement/draft, trim, sea conditions and weather conditions) interwoven together and affecting the bunker fuel efficiency of a ship?
Example 3. In bus stops, passenger movement time in boarding and alighting processes plays an important role in affecting service reliability and service quality. However, boarding and alighting processes are impacted by several factors, including vehicle configuration, friction between boarding and alighting and on-board passengers, bus floor level, and fare payment methods. The bus companies might want to know how the occupancy (e.g. 40%, 60%) of a bus affects the friction between passengers and further influences the passenger movement time at boarding/alighting processes and the bus’s dwelling time” (Zhao et al, 2015, “Analysis of Crowding Effect on Passengers’ Movement Time Based on Smart Card Data”)
Program: A program is a collection of projects grouped together to get advantage from their combined management
8
3/5/2018
9
Why business research?
Business research helps-
to address operational bottlenecks: e.g. a simulation research for a bulk port
Example (Required loading rate of a loading facility at a bulk port). Ships a
ives at the bulk port at the rate of 1 ship per day but their exact a
ival times are random. Every ship has the same cargo loading capacity of 120,000 tons. There is only one loader in the port in charge of loading the ships at the berth, and it can provide service 24/7 around the clock. Try to work out the required loading rate (ton/h) to limit the waiting time of ships at the port to less than 8 hours.
A quick answer. It is sufficient to let the loader complete loading 120,000 tons of cargo in 24 hours, since we only have 1 ship every day. That is, the required loading rate is 120,000÷24 = 5,000 ton/h. To further consider the randomness of ships’ a
ival times, setting it to 5,500 ton/h will be safe.
Can this loading rate really assure that the waiting time of ships at port is less than 8 hours? Let’s SIMULATE it!
Without simulation, the decision you made might be far away from that required in the (dynamic and uncertain) real world !
Program: A program is a collection of projects grouped together to get advantage from their combined management
9
3/5/2018
10
Why business research?
Business research helps-
to innovate design, develop new products or improve products or services.
to enhance employer and employee relationship (HRM research)
e.g. Heaphy and Dutton (2008, Academy of Management Review): Positive social interaction and the human body at work: linking organizations and physiology
“Human physiological systems are highly responsive to positive social interactions, but the organizational importance of this finding largely has been unexplored. After reviewing extant research, we illustrate how consideration of the physiology of positive social interactions at work opens new research questions about how positive social interactions affect human capacity and how organizational contexts affect employee health and physiological resourcefulness. We also address the practical implications of integrating physiological data into organizational research. Our paper invites a fuller consideration of how employees' bodies are affected by everyday work interactions and, in so doing, encourages a stronger tie between human physiology and organizational research”
to provide accurate information for managerial decision-making.
e.g. ship voyage (speed+trim) planning based on ship fuel efficiency model
Program: A program is a collection of projects grouped together to get advantage from their combined management
10
3/5/2018
11
Research methods Vs Research methodology
Research methods:
Specific activities designed to generate data (e.g. questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observation).
Research methodology:
It is more about the overall attitude and understanding of the research and strategy to answer the research questions.
XXXXXXXXXXGreener 2008)
“Method is simply a research tool, a component of research – say for example, a qualitative method such as interviews. Methodology is the justification for using a particular research method” (Source: http:
deborahga
iel.com)
Explanation from native speaker students?
11
3/5/2018
12
Types of business research -1
In terms of area of contribution-
Basic business research:
A study that is designed to make a contribution to general knowledge and theoretical understanding, rather than solve an immediate/pragmatic problem.
For example-
1) Most of the papers presented at academic conferences and academic journals
2) The academic research from MLM staff and HDR students (port/shipping economics, port/shipping operations)
12
3/5/2018
13
Types of business research -1
Applied business research:
It is conducted to address a specific immediate business decision for a specific firm or organization.
The expected outcome would be the solution to a particular problem.
XXXXXXXXXXe.g. our ship fuel efficiency studies for APL
For example-
Consultant’s report, articles in professional or trade magazines and presentations to practitioners
Examples of research questions
- Should McDonald’s add Italian pasta dinners to its menu?
- Should Port ABC deregulate terminal operation business?
- Which health insurance plan should a business provide for its employees?
13
3/5/2018
14
Types of business research -2
In terms of the nature of the research-
Exploratory research: Conducted to clarify ambiguous situations or discover ideas that may be potential business opportunities.
find out and describe what is
Does not provide conclusive evidence
Often used in preliminary studies: Subsequent research expected
XXXXXXXXXXe.g. Cruise shipping in Australia and Tasmania
Descriptive research: Research that describes characteristics of objects, people, groups, organizations, or other subjects.
explaining how or why of observed relationships and trends
Considerable understanding of the nature of the problem exists.
Does not provide direct evidence of causality.
Example 1. Young drivers tend to hit the car that did not follow the give-way rules on the road;
Example 2. Wave/wind increases, energy efficiency reduces
Example 3. In recent years, more and more academic misconducts are from East Asian countries
Example 4. Bonus increases, working efficiency increases
14
3/5/2018
15
Types of business research -2
Causal research:
Research conducted to identify cause and effect relationships (inferences).
Independent vs dependent variables
e.g.: work efficiency; : bonus (performance-related) payment
e.g. : ship fuel efficiency; its determinants
15
3/5/2018
16
The research philosophy is a paradigm or world view that guides the nature and development of knowledge in the research process (Creswell & Plano Clark 2011).
The choice of a research philosophy is important as it-
helps researchers shape the way they conduct their research and
influences the overall research process, including selection of research strategy and methods for data collection and analysis.
Four fundamental research philosophy/paradigms are:
Post-positivism, constructivism, participatory and pragmatism.
Types of business research -3
In terms of research philosophy/paradigms-
Researchers have different beliefs about how research should be conducted and what the results should accomplish
•Their beliefs can be
oadly categorised under two schools of thoughts/paradigms:
16
3/5/2018
17
Types of business research -3
(Post-)positivism focuses on cause-and-effect, reductionism, theory verification and relates to the quantitative approach (scientific approach: observing and measuring).
e.g. Survey, regression models, statistics (hypothesis testing)
“The manager of the quality assurance department of a light bulb company claims that 95 percent of the bulbs manufactured by the company are defect-free. The CEO of the company, a quality conscious person, checks a random sample of 225 bulbs and finds 87 percent of the bulbs in the sample to be defect-free. The CEO now wants to test the hypothesis that 95 percent of bulbs manufactured by the company are defect-free, as claimed by the quality assurance manager. Test the hypothesis