Business and administration research is an organized inquiry that improves organizational functioning and provides managers with enhanced management awareness. It is applied research carried out by management scholars. It is usually an interdisciplinary effort involving numerous scholars from various fields such as business, management, accounting, economics, and information technology. It involves rigorous research methodology and a structured approach to discovery-based and system-wide studies.
Business and administration research help managers make better-informed decisions for the business. It provides a framework for decision-makers to organize the processes, policies, and practices of the business and come out with technically sound, economically viable, and socially acceptable decisions. In the case of studies, different companies are studied under the umbrella of the same industry, and the customers’ issues and concerns are explored. The scope of this research can be very broad or very narrow, depending on the publisher or the institute carrying out the research. It can even be qualitative or quantitative, depending on the subject of the research itself.
It can include case studies, empirical study, descriptive analysis, survey, experiments, qualitative surveys, product development, marketing research methods, and many other research methods. A good business journal will carry out original research methodology as well as quantitative research methods. There are also some business magazines which provide special sections on business research methods. Many business textbooks focus primarily on management effectiveness, finance, operations management, marketing, strategic management, decision making, supply chain management, etc. Some popular management research journals include Business Directory, Business Journal, Economic Review, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Managerial Finance, Measurement Issues in Management, Organization Science, Psychological Review, Supply Chain Management, and Study of Business Rules.
These journals are generally published by leading professional organizations in the field of business. They help to disseminate information to an extensive range of organizations and individuals on a variety of important business issues. For instance, a report on new research findings on accounting methods can be disseminated through a research report published by an association of accountants, lawyers, accountants and auditors.
Quantitative research is mainly used to gather relevant data for statistical analysis. Some good examples of quantitative research are national level cross-tabulation, regression analysis, time series analysis, and panel analysis. This kind of research aids in finding out the effects of a change in variables on the corresponding variable. This helps in arriving at important conclusions that are pertinent to the subject at hand. Examples of quantitative research are long-term studies, case studies, survey research, meta-analyses, and social science and political science research.
Formal business research involves collecting data in the form of primary information (market research) and then formulating it into useful research outcomes. It can also be called as descriptive or participatory investigation. The main components of formal research include survey, questionnaire, interview, research design, data analysis, and research synthesis. Some good examples of traditional forms of research are surveys, focus groups, case studies, web surveys, and consumer questionnaires.
Questionnaires are mostly the most widely used of all research tools. They are mainly conducted among customers, employees, and the general public. A wide variety of surveys are available, including the following: representative consumer surveys, structured surveys, customer satisfaction surveys, employee motivators surveys, and web-based surveys.
Another popular research tool used for gathering data collection is focus groups. Many companies arrange for round-the-clock focus groups where the participants are asked questions about their business issues. They can be organized around a specific business issue or a wide range of business issues. These focus groups offer a great deal of input about issues that businesses face. The company gains a better understanding of the problems business owners and managers face every day.