Research proposal
The research is about how the practice of marketing has evolved from the time of its inception to the current level. I have also included the expected effects that my research will have on the volume of sales transactions in different Companies. In the proposal, the methods that will be applied to collect and receive data and the tabulation of information from the data received from the research findings have been included. The expected overheads to be incurred in the carrying out of this assignment and the staff that is to be involved in the marketing research have been outlined with their structure of coordination. The various challenges that are anticipated in the carrying out of the exercise with the proposed solutions to the challenges have also been outlined in the proposal. Infixed in my proposal also is the estimated time frame and cost of my research. The approach I have employed herein completely deviates from the approaches used by earlier researchers in the same field. This research is of such importance as it takes on a topic that very little has been researched and written on.
Introduction and Background
Competition is a phenomenon that adds value to all endeavors undertaken by different participants. Trade, just like other disciplines, thrives in conditions that allow competition. Each of the players in the industry of trade has a strategy of having an edge over the business competitors or rivals. With this in mind, a study on the impact of marketing as far as the achievement of business transactions is concerned is a step in the right direction. To help understand marketing better, the underlying factors like advertising and marketing funding that surround the marketing practice need thorough evaluation. There is no healthier way of doing this than to carry out a field research. This research will dig deeper into the fundamental details that concern marketing with a focus on impact of competitiveness in the field of business undertakings. After the finer details on the impact of marketing will be understood, the same will be tried out in companies so that the marketing companies will henceforth refer to the research findings and recommendations.
This research will be carried out so that fundamental questions that have remained unanswered will receive appropriate answers. For purposes of introducing the history of marketing will be looked at so that the present is compared with the past. This is important because it enables one to understand the development stages the marketing practice has undergone in order to be on the current level. The following questions will be important; who were the pioneers of marketing? What factors led to the development of marketing? What effects did marketing have on the volume of sales, the revolution of marketing and the practice at large? What were the methods used in marketing? What kind of impact, if any, did the practice have on the volume of sales? The answers to these questions will stimulate more questions that will touch on the present aspects of our topic of study. For example: what kind of marketing strategies do the outstanding companies employ? Under what conditions are the competitions in the marketing industry? Have the competitions contributed to the development of the marketing practices by industry players and how? Does competition bring any variations in the levels of trade? How do poor achievers perceive marketing in the field of trade? These and many more relevant questions will form the direction and flow of the research. They will all be included in the relevant questionnaires that will be designed and printed by our team.
Review of literature
Literature review can be defined as “the selection of available documents (both published and unpublished) on the topic, which contains information, ideas, data and evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and how it is to be investigated, and the effective evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed”. (Hart, C.1998 pp 13)
Marketing has been with us for a long period of time. In modern days, it is extremely difficult to appreciate trade in total isolation of marketing practices. This is perhaps the reason why the study of marketing has become of great interest to scholars and businessmen. Subsequently, the written literature that exists on this discipline has considerably become available. However, the scholarly articles that are with us are not enough as far as the needs for knowledge in this area are concerned. Therefore, efforts towards more research and synthesis of information in this arena are still welcomed. Acting upon this, I intend to institute a research that will go a long way towards providing the extra knowledge that may be helpful to both the scholars and business fraternity.
A research proposal on the impact of marketing on the business transactions will avail the understanding of critical issues in business. This research will exemplify the importance of marketing. It will also evaluate the impact of competition on the volume of trade. Furthermore, the vacuum that exists in the form of knowledge on the topic will be filled.
My research work will be helpful to marketing Executives in designing and implementation of marketing strategies. This will enable the formulation of marketing strategies and standards with international appeal. For most businesses to survive in the marketing of their products, they have to access journals on marketing practices. For example, the Wall Street journals, Fortune, the Financial Times among other publications. The international marketing approach of a company can boost its performance, that is, if it is involved in international trade. The marketing approach addresses a number of issues. First is the environment of the marketing plan in terms of the stability between a consistency and extension approach to the marketing mix essentials in the localization or adjustment approach that is receptive to a country or local differences. Second is the application of marketing activities in a few countries or the distribution of such activities across many countries.
Third, the search for international opportunities requires cross-border harmonization of marketing activities. This is by considering the different activities of the locals with regards to the area of production. Finally, a company’s international marketing strategy and approach will address the issue of worldwide participation of markets. (Hart, C. pp 58). This may be met by various practices of the local country or market. The Executives will also be able to understand and offer advice on the quality of the products from the research findings. For the consumers, the findings will also help them to better their participation in business transactions, particularly in marketing. They will assist in research by providing information on the quality of the products. This will enable the company to reevaluate its input to the product with the aim of effecting the necessary qualitative and quantitative changes accordingly. (Morris, C. pg 71) The poor achievers in marketing will decipher the reasons behind their poor performance and compare to the findings of this research as a benchmark in the designing and implementing of marketing policies. This will ignite in them the desire to do better.
As explained before, the objective of this project is to bridge the information gap left by early research. None of the scholarly articles in existence has a complete cover of materials on this topic. This is not to say that these academic articles are irrelevant. But they do not give the required details on my topic of study. At the end of this research, I aspire to produce a document that will provide meaningful reading on the impact of competition business transactions in the field of marketing. My quest to carry out this project has sprung from reading works of other outstanding scholars. Their insightful literature has provided me with the necessary background that I need for the task at hand. In preparation for this project the book “doing qualitative research-in London” by Silverman, current edition, has been of immense importance. I have similarly gained valuable directions from the work by Babbie E, current edition titled, “the practice of social research”. Ticehurst, G.W & Veal, A. J current edition, on Business Research Methods (a managerial approach) has equally served me well.
Design and methodology/procedure
From the topic of study, it is clear that the research will mostly be carried out on the parties to the chain of supply. This is because the movements of products across the parties act as a link and connection between the producers and the end-users. In the process, there is relevant information that is acquired which is important to the producing company. But the research will not cover the whole outlet parties, I intend to use sampling method where a small size of different parties in a particular level, for example the retailers, are selected for research purposes. As such few people from different provinces will be interviewed. For historical purposes, a review of the past findings and the influence of marketing on the volume of sales of products will be inevitable.
The procedure of collecting data will involve interviews that will be led by a qualified moderator, questionnaires designed to indicate the reactions from the sample population that was involved in the research and report writing. While collecting data, interaction with suppliers, retailers, consumers as the end-users of the products or the parties to the chain of supply will be necessary. In order to collect data that is credible, the sources of information and the information itself should be tested for authenticity. The academic backgrounds of the interviewees and their wealth of knowledge on the topic of study will be tested to ascertain the reliability of the information that they will give. The academic backgrounds can be confirmed by checking with the alma maters claimed. The authentication of information given by the parties in the supply chain can be verified individually. For example, the authenticity of information from consumers or end users can be authenticated by the use of video recordings during the interview sessions. There will be no need to check for authenticity of information collected from institutions like the revenue authority since these are sources with authority.
The next step will be arranging and sorting out in different groups the information collected. This can be classified into categories, for example, the information from interviewees with the positive reaction in one category, those with negative reaction in the other, while those ones unable to be classified in the other. This will make working with the information easy. Selection of the information relevant to the topic at hand will then follow. The most significant part of the whole procedure will be analysis of the data. The data will be analyzed by comparing the information collected with the hypothesis advanced. This can be done by use of variance analysis techniques called the ANOVA or the analysis of covariance, also known as ANCOVA. The entire hypothesis formulated will be compared with the responses collected from the sources.
Opinions on the comparisons will form the fruits of the project. The declarations should be founded on the critical analysis of the information. Conclusions will be synthesized by use of variant techniques. The procedure should be both qualitative and quantitative. As noted by Patton, 1994 “The cardinal principle of qualitative analysis is that causal relationships and theoretical statements be clearly emergent from and grounded in the data” (Patton, 1994). Qualitative investigation is not entirely a process of number of items or statements coming in classes. Its chief aim is usually in the variety of meanings, attitudes, and interpretations inherent in each category.
The questions that were put forward will not have empirical answers. The procedure that will be mostly used will be qualitative analysis of the information collected. Strong analytical and interpretational skills will be needed to assess and establish the pictorial and video representations that will be exciting.
Conclusion
The aim of the study is to satisfy the curiosity and answer questions that interested parties have raised over the above topic. Furthermore, a full and accurate account of the impact of competition on the achievement of marketing by a company is the objective of this exercise. The success of this project will lie in the fulfillment of these goals. In undertaking this research, there are numerous costs that I expect to incur which I intend to receive the necessary budgetary allocations to cover the exercise. This will include, communicating with the concerned candidates for the research, that is, the parties to the supply chain that are established.
For example, the retailers and suppliers. Consumers can also be communicated to by use of relevant medium of communication like Television broadcasting and local dailies, the costs to be incurred while printing of the questionnaires and the transport arrangements of both the staff and the materials required for the exercise. I also intend to have a team that will be assisting me in conducting the research. For this team to be operational without affecting the limited employees that are available from the company, I shall be hiring a competent and well-accredited firm to carry out the research exercise. For this, Infotrak Research Company has been recruited. In addition to the company conducting research, I shall be seeking the services of qualified personnel who shall be responsible for the implementation of the research findings. This means that the vacancies shall be advertised in the necessary media and vacancy notices which will lead
to the conducting of interviews of the applicants. Upon completing the recruitment, the expected costs will also have to include the remuneration of the hired Company, their accommodation and transport arrangements. I will also incur the storage costs of the materials necessary for the assignment. Using the available resources, I will endeavor to conclusively respond to the above demands.
However, I anticipate running into challenges during the research work. Chief among the problems that I have foreseen are; inadequate or poor responses both written and verbal, absence of co-operation from the parties of supply chain, vested interests and distorted information. Since very little has been done on my topic of research it is quite a challenge there is very minimal reference material. As a result there will be more effort and finance in consulting the information that is very vital but not locally available. I also expect to meet security challenges given that I will be venturing into territories that have underdeveloped security systems. The solutions to these problems lie in proper planning. To begin with, awareness should be done before the field research so that the importance and purpose of the exercise are communicated to the prospective respondents well in advance. This will enable the respondents to have a positive attitude towards the exercise. It will also allow the team to be accorded with the co-operation that is required while carrying out the exercise. In addition, large number of questionnaires will have to be circulated so that the responses can be as many as possible.
The size and framing of the questions on the questionnaires should be appealing to anyone that comes across the document. I also intend to conduct a familiarization and code of ethics with the staff that I will be working with. This will enable the team to have a healthy relationship with the respondents. The hired Company is to receive proper clearance and documentation from the Company so that there will be no conflicts and misunderstandings between the hired Company and the respondents. There will be a direct communication between the local authorities and the hiring Company, outlining the nature of research and the expected input from the local respondents. The expected duration and timing of the whole exercise are taken to be three months. The proper dates as of when the exercise is expected to commence will be effectively communicated to the relevant authorities in the area under research. If the methodologies and procedures described above will be faithfully followed, and the proposal can receive proper funding from the proposal, my sincere belief is that the intended objectives shall be achieved. Finally, it should be remembered that, the success of this project will depend on the cooperation of all stakeholders and the respondents under the research area.
References
Babbie, E1987, The practice of Social Research-Belmont, CA, Wordsworth publishing Company, Current Edition.
Hart, C1998, Doing a Literature review, London, Sage Publications.
Morris, C2002, Quantitative Approaches in Business Studies, London, Pitman Publishing Company.
Silverman, D1999, Doing Qualitative Research, London, Sage Publications