Define the business research and its purpose
Business research is a systematic inquiry that gives data and information to guide managerial decisions. It covers the process of planning, acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating relevant data, information, and insights to decision-makers in ways that mobilize the organization to take appropriate actions that in turn maximize business performance (Cooper et al. l, Chapter 1). The following figure shows the process of business research.
Explain the business problem(s) under investigation
The business problem under investigation refers to the introduction of a wine drink by Coca-Cola into Phoenix, Arizona. The question that needs to be answered is will the Phoenix, Arizona market be able to support a wine drink made by Coca-Cola. The wine drink will be a sweet red wine available at a mid-level price. The only size available for the new wine will be one liter. The study aims to determine if the management of Coca-Cola should expand beyond their soft drink market and enter into the wine segment. Ti take this decision; the management need to have extensive research that would answer questions such as who, what, when, why, where, how. With the answers to this question, the management can decide if the new product introduction will be successful.
Identify the parties involved in conducting the research.
The parties involved in conducting the research are the management of Coca Cola who would be responsible for introducing the wine product into the market. Then there would be the researchers who are involved in carrying out the work of designing the survey. The other parties involved are the respondents who would be answering the survey questions. The respondents are adults between the ages of 25-35.
Describe the method(s) used to conduct the research project.
According to the case, The management needs to answer questions such as if the new product would be successful if the market they want to enter has a need for a new wine drink product; existing factors within the wine drink market; potential interview customers within the market; understand the competition within this market; verify if they have the finances necessary to introduce a product in this marketplace. According to the case, adults age 25-35 would be asked to sample the beverage and answer a few questions that form the survey instrument. The research process would be in the form of a survey instrument and would have the following questions.
- How do you like the flavor of the wine? Very good, good, satisfactory, poor, very poor;
- What price would you pay for one liter of the wine? (List a price);
- When would it be appropriate to serve this wine? Weekly at dinnertime, once a month special occasions, holidays only, rarely;
- How often do you drink wine with meals? Daily, monthly, quarterly, yearly, rarely;
- Where do you normally buy wine? Grocery store, wine store, specialty stores, at a winery
Answers to the survey would help the company to decide on the course of action to be taken.
The Data and Story Library
The website of the Data and Story Library was accessed, and the following methods have been reviewed (Method. 2007).
Histogram: Methods used are Histogram, Paired t-test
The story of Friday the 13th was analyzed. The day is regarded as unlucky, and questions are raised if this is a superstition. Questions were addressed by researchers Scanlon et al. (1993) in a study that examined the relationship between behavior and superstition in the United Kingdom. They analyzed shopping and traffic patterns, as well as the numbers and types of accidents that occurred on past Friday the 13th’s. The study, conducted in England, focused on two questions: 1) How do superstitions regarding Friday the 13th affect human behavior? and 2) Is Friday the 13th more unlucky than other Fridays? The answers that came out after the survey was there were fewer cars on the road on Friday the 13th, the local hospital reported more accidents on Friday the 13th (Histogram, 2007)
References
- Cooper, Schindler, 2006. Business Research Methods, Ninth Edition. The McGraw−Hill Companies.
- Histogram, 2007. Friday the 13th.
- Method. 2007. Stories by Method.
- Plot Matrix, 2007. Egyptian Skulls.