ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Roger Bougie is the Academic Director of the Executive Master of Management and Organization at TIAS School for Business & Society (Tilburg University) and an Associate Professor in Research Methods. He holds a PhD in Marketing from Tilburg University and has more than two decades of experience teaching undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs. A recipient of multiple teaching awards, he has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and co-authored books and articles on research methods, marketing, and managerial decision making in complex situations.

Uma Sekaran was Professor Emerita of Management at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She earned her MBA from the University of Connecticut and her PhD from UCLA. A distinguished researcher, she authored or co-authored eight books, numerous book chapters, and more than 55 refereed journal articles. Renowned for her contributions to cross-cultural research, she received multiple awards for her teaching and research excellence from the Academy of Management and other professional organizations.

Preface xxi

About the Authors xxiv

1 Introduction to Research 1

Introduction 1

Business Research 2

Research and the Manager 3

Types of Business Research: Applied and Basic 4

Applied Research 5

Basic or Fundamental Research 7

Managers and Research 7

Why Managers Need to Know About Research 7

The Manager and the Consultant-Researcher 8

Internal Versus External Consultants/Researchers 9

Internal Consultants/Researchers 9

Advantages of Internal Consultants/Researchers 9

Disadvantages of Internal Consultants/Researchers 9

External Consultants/Researchers 10

Advantages of External Consultants/Researchers 10

Disadvantages of External Consultants/Researchers 10

Knowledge About Research and Managerial Effectiveness 11

Ethics and Business Research 11

Summary 12

Discussion Questions 13

Case: The Laroche Candy Company 14

Case Questions 16

2 The Scientific Approach and Alternative Approaches to Investigation 17

Introduction 17

The Hall marks of Scientific Research 18

Purposiveness 18

Rigor 18

Testability 19

Replicability 19

Precision and Confidence 19

Objectivity 20

Generalizability 20

Parsimony 20

The Hypothetico- Deductive Method 21

The Seven- Step Process in the Hypothetico- Deductive Method 21

Identify a Broad Problem Area 21

Define The Research Problem 22

Develop Hypotheses 22

Determine Measures 22

Data Collection 22

Data Analysis 22

Interpretation of Data 23

Review of the Hypothetico- Deductive Method 23

Alternative Approaches to Research 24

Positivism 24

Constructionism 24

Critical Realism 25

Pragmatism 25

A Pragmatic Approach to Research 26

Organizational Challenges and Opportunities 26

Organizational Change: A Specific Case and Approach 27

The Initial Stages: The Manager Starts Exploring 29

The Initial Stages: Briefing the Researcher 30

Defining the Organizational Problem 31

Defining the Research Problem 32

Developing a Research Proposal 32

A Critical Literature Review 32

The Planning Collection and Analyses of Data 32

Conclusions and Recommenda tions 33

The Final Stages: The Manager Makes a Decision and Acts 33

Comparing Two Important Approaches 33

Conclusion 34

Summary 34

Discussion Questions 35

3 Defining the Management Problem 37

Introduction 37

Organizational Challenges and Opportunities 37

The First Step of the Research Process: Exploration 38

To Conduct Research or Not 38

Defining the Management Problem 39

Applied Research in Support of a Process of Planned Change 40

The First Step of the Research Process in Change Situations: Exploration 40

The Second Step of the Research Process: Diagnosis 42

The Constraints or Preconditions That Should be Taken into Account 46

Different Types of Problems and Solutions to These Problems 46

Providing Feedback to the Client Organization 49

Managerial Implications 49

Summary 50

Discussion Questions 51

Appendix: Background Information on the Organization 52

4 Defining the Research Problem 54

Introduction 54

Defining the Research Problem 54

What Makes a Good Problem Statement? 54

Basic Types of Questions: Exploratory Descriptive and Causal Questions 58

Exploratory Research Questions 58

Descriptive Research Questions 59

Causal Research Questions 60

The Research Proposal 61

Managerial Implications 64

Ethical Issues in the Preliminary Stages of Investigation 64

Summary 65

Discussion Questions 65

5 The Critical Literature Review 67

Introduction 67

Definition and Functions of the Critical Literature Review 67

How to Approach the Literature Review 69

Data Sources 69

Textbooks 69

Journals 69

Theses 69

Conference Proceedings 69

Unpublished Manuscripts 69

The Internet 70

AI Tools 70

Searching for Literature 70

Evaluating the Literature 71

Reading Strategies 72

Documenting the Literature Review 72

Citing Sources in Your Literature Review 76

Reference and Citation Management Programs 78

On the Use of AI and Large Language Models 78

Ethical Issues 79

Final Note 80

Summary 80

Discussion Questions 81

Practice Project 82

Appendix: Some Online Resources Useful for Business Research 83

Online Databases 83

On the Web 84

Accounting and Finance 84

Economics and Econometrics 84

Environmental Science 85

Marketing 85

Organizational Behavior and Human Resources 86

Strategic Management and Management Science 86

Tourism Leisure and Hospitality Management 86

Overview of Academic Top Journals Per Subject Area 87

Accounting and Finance 87

Economics and Econometrics 87

Environmental Science 87

Management Science and Operations Research 88

Marketing 88

Organizational Behavior and Human Resources 89

Strategic Management 89

Tourism Leisure and Hospitality Management 89

Apa Guidelines 90

APA Format for Referencing Relevant Articles 90

Specimen Format For Citing Different Types of References (Apa Format) 90

Referencing and Quotation in the Literature Review Section 91

Quotations in Text 92

Sample Apa Style Student Papers 94

6 Theoretical Framework and Hypothesis Development 95

Introduction 95

The Need for a Theoretical Framework 96

Variables 97

Dependent Variable 97

Independent Variable 98

Moderating Variable 100

The Distinction Between an Independent Variable and a Moderating Variable 101

Mediating Variable 103

How Theory Is Generated 104

The Components of the Theoretical Framework 105

Hypothesis Development 106

Definition of a Hypothesis 106

Statement of Hypotheses: Formats 107

If-then Statements 107

Directional and Nondirectional Hypotheses 107

Null and Alternate Hypotheses 108

Managerial Implications 112

Summary 113

Discussion Questions 113

Practice Project 115

7 Elements of Research Design 116

Introduction 116

The Research Design 116

Elements of Research Design 117

Research Strategies 117

Experiments 118

Survey Research 118

Ethnography 118

Case Studies 119

Grounded Theory 119

Action Research 120

Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research 120

Extent of Researcher Interference With the Study 122

Study Setting: Contrived and Noncontrived 123

Unit of Analysis: Individuals Dyads Groups Organizations Cultures 125

Time Horizon: Cross- Sectional Versus Longitudinal Studies 127

Cross- Sectional Studies 127

Longitudinal Studies 127

Trade- Offs and Compro mises 128

Managerial Implications 129

Summary 129

Discussion Questions 130

8 Interviews 131

Introduction 131

Primary Data Collection Methods 131

Interviews 132

Unstructured and Semi-Structured Interviews 133

Unstructured Interviews 133

Semi- Structured Interviews 133

Training Interviewers 134

Some Tips to Follow When Interviewing 135

Establishing Credibility and Rapport and Motivating Individuals to Respond 135

The Questioning Technique 136

Review of Tips to Follow When Interviewing 137

Face- To- Face Online and Telephone Interviews 137

Face-to- Face Interviews: Advantages and Disadvantages 138

Online Interviews: Advantages and Disadvantages 138

Telephone Interviews: Advantages and Disadvantages 138

Personal and Group Interviews 139

Focus Groups 139

Expert Panels 140

Advantages and Disad vantages of Interviews 141

Summary 142

Discussion Questions 142

9 Observation 144

Introduction 144

Definition and Purpose of Observation 145

Four Key Dimensions That Characterize the Type of Observation 145

Controlled Versus Uncontrolled Observational Studies 145

Participant Versus Non- Participant Observation 146

Structured Versus Unstructured Observational Studies 146

Concealed Versus Unconcealed Observation 147

Online Observation 147

Two Important Approaches to Observation 148

Participant Observation: Introduction 148

The Participatory Aspect of Participant Observation 149

The Observation Aspect of Participant Observation 150

What to Observe 151

Structured Observation: Introduction 153

The Use of Coding Schemes in Structured Observation 153

Advantages and Disadvantages of Observation 155

Summary 157

Discussion Questions 157

10 Administering Questionnaires 159

Introduction 159

Types of Questionnaires 159

Personally Administered Questionnaires 160

Self- Administered Questionnaires 160

Mail Questionnaires 160

Electronic and Online Questionnaires 160

Guidelines For Questionnaire Design 162

Principles of Measurement 162

Principles of Wording 163

Content and Purpose of the Questions 164

Language and Wording of the Questionnaire 164

Type and Form of Questions 164

General Appearance or 'Getup' of the Questionnaire 166

A Good Introduction 166