Business Research

Bryman and Bell: Business Research Methods: 3e

Chapter 1

Business Research
Strategies
Authored by Tom Owens

The Ultimate Answer

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http://youtu.be/FMGWy6dxf8k

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publically accessible website, in whole or in part.

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• Business Research Methodology

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publically accessible website, in whole or in part.

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Business Research Defined
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Business research is the application of the scientific method in searching for the truth about business phenomena.
The process includes:
 idea and theory development
 problem definition
 searching for and collecting information
 analyzing data
 communicating the findings and their implications

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Business Research Defined
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This definition suggests that business research information is:
 not intuitive or haphazardly gathered
 accurate and objective
 relevant to all aspects of the business
 limited by one’s definition of business
Not-for-profit organizations and governmental agencies can use research in much the same was as managers in for-profit organizations.

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Applied and Basic Business Research
• Applied business research
 conducted to address a specific business decision for a specific firm or organization.
 Example:
Should McDonald’s add Italian pasta dinners to its menu?
Which health insurance plan should a business provide for its employees?

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Applied and Basic Business Research
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Basic business research (also called pure research)
 conducted without a specific decision in mind that usually does not address the needs of a specific organization.
 Attempts to expand the limits of knowledge in general.
 Not aimed at solving a pragmatic problem.
 Example:
 Do consumers experience cognitive dissonance in lowinvolvement situations?
 Does employee tenure with a company influence productivity?

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Influences on business research

Figure 1.2
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The role of theory in research
Which comes first, theory or research?
- should

we examine a problem and try to work out how it’s caused and how it might be solved (inductive reasoning), - or should we take a generally accepted theory of how things work and find evidence for it in the problem we examine (deductive reasoning)?

The nature of business research
Business research does not ‘exist in a bubble’ in a world apart from the social sciences -it is integrated with them;
The variety and diversity of business and management studies makes it hard to find agreement on how business research claims should be evaluated;
Perhaps it can only be seen as an ‘applied’ field because it is concerned with solving management problems;
Academic researchers add to theory “supported by bits of practice” and management consultants contribute to practice “backed by bits of theory”. (Gummesson, 2000)

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Evidence-based management
• Is the systematic use of the best available evidence to improve management practice
(Reay, Berta and Kohn 2009)
• Concept developed to reduce variation in
(clinical) practice
• Information comes, in part, from the expertise and judgement of managers, working in individual firms
Key concept 1.1
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Knowledge is ‘produced’ in two modes
• Mode 1
– traditional, universitybased
– academic audience
– pure and applied
– built upon existing knowledge – more linear process
– limited emphasis on dissemination Based on Gibbons et al.
(1994)

• Mode2
– involves:
• academics
• policy-makers
• practitioners

– trans-disciplinarity
– related to context
• not easily replicated

– less linear process
– more emphasis on dissemination and exploitation Page 6

Theories come at two levels
Grand theories: like • Structural‑functionalism
• Symbolic Interactionism
• Critical theory
• Poststructuralism
• Structuration theory

Middle-range theories: like • Strategic choice
• Trait theory
• Contingency theory
• Labour Process theory Middle-range theories typically guide business research Page 8

Deductive and inductive theory
• Deductivism:
– theory --> data
– explicit hypothesis to be confirmed or rejected
– quantitative research

• Inductivism:
– data --> theory
– generalizable inferences from observations
– qualitative research /grounded theory

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The process of deduction

Figure 1.1
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Knowledge and Reality
How do we know the things we know? Because we read about them in newspapers, or we learned them at school? Should we make important decisions based on this kind of knowledge or should we do some research?
These kinds of questions are part of the study of
Epistemology.
Do businesses and organizations exist independent of the people who work in them? Can you have capitalism without capitalists?
These kinds of questions are part of the study of
Ontology.

Epistemological considerations
• What is (or should be) considered acceptable knowledge? • Can the social world be studied ‘scientifically’?
• Is it appropriate to apply the methods of the natural sciences to social science research?
• Positivism and interpretivism
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Positivism
• Application of natural science methods to social science research
• Phenomenalism: knowledge via the
Key concept 1.7 senses Page 15
• Deductivism: theory testing
• Inductivism: theory building
• Objective, value-free researcher

What is Interpretivism?
Interpretivism is taken to denote an alternative to the positivist orthodoxy that has held sway for decades. It is predicated upon the view that a strategy is required that respects the differences between people and the objects of the natural sciences and therefore requires the social scientist to grasp the subjective meaning of social action. Its intellectual heritage includes: Weber's notion of Verstehen; the hermeneutic-phenomenological tradition; and symbolic interactionism. Key concept 1.10
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Ontological considerations
• Social ontology: the nature of social entities
• What kind of objects exist in the social world?
• Do social entities exist independently of our perceptions of them?
• Is social reality external to social actors or constructed by them?
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What is Objectivism?
Objectivism is an ontological position that asserts that social phenomena and their meanings have an existence that is independent of social actors. It implies that social phenomena and the categories that we use in everyday discourse have an existence that is independent or separate from actors.
Key concept 1.13
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What is constructionism?
• Also referred to as constructivism
• Social phenomena and their meanings are continually being generated by social actors
• Social phenomena and categories are produced through social interaction
• Social phenomena and categories are in a constant state of revision
• Researchers' own accounts of the social world are constructions • Knowledge is viewed as indeterminate
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What is the role of a paradigm?
Paradigms are a cluster of beliefs and dictates that influence:
– What should be studied
– How research should be done
– How results should be interpreted

Social science consists of competing paradigms
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Social paradigms
Radical
Radical humanist
S
u b j e c t i v i s t

Individuals need emancipation from the social arrangement of organizations Interpretative

Radical structuralist Structural power relationships result in conflict Functionalist

Organizations do not
Problem-solving
exist apart from the orientation leading to perceptions of people rational explanation working in them – study their
Regulator
Page 24 experiences y

O b j e c t i v i s t

Multiple paradigms used in research
• Functionalist
– Survey of job motivation

• Interpretative
– Conversational data on work routines

• Radical humanist
– Descriptive analysis of management training

• Radical structuralist
– Historical analysis of employment relations

Based on Hassard (1991),

Reported in Research in focus
1.17
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Research strategy: quantitative or qualitative?
It is useful to classify business research methods into two distinctive clusters: quantitative and qualitative
These strategies differ in terms of their:
• general orientation to social research
• epistemological foundations
• ontological basis

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Differences between quantitative and qualitative research strategies

Table 1.1
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Features of quantitative research
• A measurement of social variables
• Common research designs: surveys and experiments
• Numerical and statistical data
• Deductive theory testing
• Positivist epistemology
• Objectivist view of reality as external to social actors

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Features of qualitative research
• Understanding the subjective meanings held by actors
(interpretivist epistemology)
• Common methods: interviews, ethnography
• Data are words, texts and stories
• Inductive approach: theory emerges from data
• Social constructionist ontology

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Mixed methods research
• It is possible to combine quantitative and qualitative strategies within a research project
• Holmberg and others (2008) study of leadership shows how combining quantitative and qualitative research provided a more rounded and complete
Research in focus 1.18 picture Page 28

Influences of personal values on business research
The personal beliefs or the feelings of researcher affect every stage of research process, from the choice of research area to the interpretation of results.
If we recognize that research cannot be value-free, we can attempt to limit its constraint on objectivity.
Feminist writers (among others) argue for consciously value-laden research, in which the researcher empathises with the researched and encourages reciprocity.

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Practical considerations
• May influence or determine choices on:
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research strategy design method resources and costs

• May be influenced or determined by:
– nature of the topic
– people being investigated
– political acceptability

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The Scientific Method
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Scientific Method
 The way researchers go about using knowledge and evidence to reach objective conclusions about the real world.
 The analysis and interpretation of empirical evidence (facts from observation or experimentation) to confirm or disprove prior conceptions 1–

EXHIBIT 1.1

A Summary of the Scientific Method / Positivist approach

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The Scientific Method

• Scientific Method

 A set of prescribed procedures for establishing and connecting theoretical statements about events, for analyzing empirical evidence, and for predicting events yet unknown.
 Techniques or procedures used to analyze empirical evidence in an attempt to confirm or disprove prior conceptions. © 2010 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publically accessible website, in whole or in part.

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Suggested steps:

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Assess relevant existing knowledge of phenomenon
Formulate concepts and propositions State hypotheses
Design research to test the hypotheses Acquire empirical data
Analyze and evaluate data
Propose an explanation of the phenomenon and state new problems raised by the research 2.
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