Business Research Methods

PGP – 1 Term - 3
2021-2022
(Sections A, B, C and E)

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Instructors: Prof. Akshaya Vijayalakshmi

Prof. A. K. Jaiswal
Prof. Anuj Kapoor

I. OBJECTIVE

The objective of this course is to develop in the participant, approach, skills and the attitude required to
specify, evaluate and utilize information for making better business decisions. It is not intended to turn a
participant into a business research technician. However, the use of research techniques would be
discussed briefly to provide a sound base for achieving the above objectives. Specifically, the course
would attempt to develop in a participant an exposure and competence in:

i. Overview of Business Research Methods (BRM)

ii. Defining research problems in the context of marketing decisions and specifying information
needed
iii. Evaluating the research design for the decision situation
iv. Qualitative and quantitative research
v. Evaluating and interpreting available and new information
vi. Utilizing the information for making the research related decisions and basic data analysis

The course is organized and conducted in a manner so that it provides a strong support to other PGP-I
courses and also to equip the participants to execute summer assignments competently. The course
would have class sessions as well as a field-based research project to achieve the above objectives.

II. COURSE CONTENT - A BRIEF OUTLINE

An important content of a manager's job is to take business decisions. A good manager when faced with a
business and marketing problem, develops an understanding of the context, structures the problems and
then uses appropriate methods to collect the information, analyze it and take a decision.

For solving business and marketing decisions, a marketing manager groups potential customers/
buyers/consumers into segments and then selects target segment(s) for the organization to achieve
organizational goals as well as to satisfy customer’s requirements better than the competitors. This
typically entails a thorough analysis of the buyer behavior, the organization’s objectives and strengths and
weaknesses, the external environment, and the demand potential of the opportunities under consideration.
A few prominent business and marketing decision areas are cited below:

 Assessing Market Opportunity

(a) Customer Analysis
(b) Competition Analysis
(c) Assessing Marketing Environment

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 Marketing Assessment and Forecasting
 Demand Assessment and Forecasting
 Designing Market Offer
 Delivering the Offer

BRM course will deal with the problem definition, research design, questionnaire design, data collection, and
analysis stages of research projects.

III. LEARNING METHOD AND MATERIAL

Case and Conceptual discussions will be used as the major learning methods for this course. The following
book will be used for assigning conceptual readings in the course.

Reading: Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation, Malhotra & Dash (MD)

TEACHING METHOD AND MATERIAL

The course will use the following teaching methods: (a) Case discussion covering a cross section of
decision situations depicting issues in evaluating and carrying out of business research studies; (b)
discussions on issues and techniques of business research; and (c) field project work.

Effective learning through case method requires individual preparation, small group discussion before
class, in class discussion, and in and out of class reflection. Each participant should make a short synopsis
of one's analysis of each case. The synopsis, typically, should contain:
 Major issues
 Analysis for resolving the issue(s)
 Recommendations/ inferences on major issues

S/he may be asked to submit the synopsis at the beginning of the class

You must reflect on preparation and learning after each case situation/ class and module individually and in
your group. You are welcome to discuss and clarify any doubts with the instructors/academic associates
during office hours.

IV. EVALUATION

The evaluation will consist of:

Elements Weightage (%)
(a) Class Participation + Quizzes 40
(b) Field Project 60 (50% group. 10% individual)
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Total 100
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V. INSTRUCTORS AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT

The following office hours could be availed of at your initiative. In case of urgent/pressing matters, you could
also seek appointment outside these hours.

Lead Instructor / Academic Associate Secretary / Office Office hours on the days
Office ( Phone & Email ) (Phone) class is held
Prof. Anand K. Jaiswal Mr. Hetal Shah By appointment
Wing – B5, Ext. - 4862 Wing – 15A
Email: akjaiswal@iima.ac.in Ext. - 4941
Prof. Arindam Banerjee Mr. Sethumadhavan By appointment
Ext. - 4898 Wing - 6
Email: arindam@iima.ac.in Ext. 4851
Prof. Akshaya Vijayalakshmi Ms. Vanitha Mudaliar By appointment
KLMDC 57, Ext.- 4895 KLMDC
Email : akshayav@iima.ac.in Ext. 4820
Prof. Anuj Kapoor Ms. Vanitha Mudaliar By appointment
KLMDC 69, Ext- 4937 KLMDC
Email: anujk@iima.ac.in Ext. 4820

Ms. Binal Joshi

Wing–Conference Room 1stFloor,
KLMDC
Ext. –5334
Email: binalj@iima.ac.in
Ms. Riddhi Upadhyay
Wing – Conference Room 1st Floor,
KLMDC
Ext. –
Email: riddhiu@iima.ac.in
Ms. Karuna Pathak
Wing- Conference Room 1st Floor,
KLMDC
Ext.-
Email: karunap@iima.ac.in
Mr. Saubhagya Bhalla
Wing- Conference Room 1st Floor,
KLMDC
Ext.-
Email: saubhagyab@iima.ac.in
Ms. Manheer Suwalka
Wing-
Ext.-
Email: msuwalka@iima.ac.in

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 Session-Wise Outline

Session Case:(C); Guidelines for Preparation:(GP) Readings

No.
1. Topic: Problem Definition and Developing a Research Plan Defining the Marketing
C: Chemical Products Ltd (B) Research Problem and
Chemical Products Ltd (A) Developing an Approach: Ch.
2 (MD)
GP: Please individually answer these questions and bring your notes
to class.
Critically evaluate the plan of studies suggested in Chemical Products Ltd.
(B) case. Your evaluation would probably consist of:
a) Identification of specific information needs and the specific
study(is) through which they are being addressed.
b) Whether all studies put together would provide a
comprehensive set of information desired, at the desired level
of accuracy and usability.
c) Recommend changes in the set of sub-studies, if necessary.
List a few secondary sources from where you will gather the suggested
information in the case. Give details of the source and the kind of
information pertaining to the case you might be able to gather from that
source.

2. Prepare the following group presentation: Your Group should

evaluate and critique one the studies as mentioned below:
a. Group 1: Survey of Organized Sector Companies using
Menthol
b. Group 2: Survey of Unorganized Sector and End Users
c. Group 3: In-depth studies of Manufacturers of Menthol
Suggest suitable changes if necessary and justify.
2. Topic: Research Design & Data Collection Approaches Research Design: Ch. 3 (MD)
Exploratory Research Design
C: Dewdrop Soaps (B) - Secondary Data: Ch. 4
R: Dewdrop Soaps (A) (MD)
R: Note on Marketing Research Designs (Mar 257)
Descriptive Research Design
Please individually answer these questions and bring your notes to - Survey and Observation:
class. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each research design Ch. 6 (MD)
as provided by the MR agencies. Which design do you prefer the most and
the least?
3-4. Topic: Measurement and Scaling, Design of Instrument Measurement and Scaling:
Ch. 8 and Ch. 9 (MD)
C: Indian Products Limited (A)
Questionnaire and Form
Indian Products Limited (B)
Design: Ch. 10 (MD)

Please individually answer these questions and bring your notes to

class.
1. Please evaluate how the questionnaire responses are framed. Suggest

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 modifications, if any, and justify the same (for session 1)
2. Please evaluate how the questions are framed. Suggest modifications, if
any, and justify the same. Also analyze the data analysis plans. (for
session 2).

Additional Reading:
C: Indian Products Limited (C)
Indian Products Limited (D)
5&6. Topic: Data Analysis Planning and Research Design Sampling – Design and
Procedures: Ch. 11 (MD)
C: Dettol: Marketing Research for Understanding Consumer Evaluations
of Brand Extensions Frequency Distribution,
Cross-Tabulation, and
R: 1. Aaker. D.A. and K.L. Keller (1990), “Consumer evaluations of brand Hypothesis Testing: Ch. 15
extensions”, Journal of Marketing, 54, 27-61. (MD)
2. Consumer evaluations of brand extensions: Evidences from India
SR: 1. Dettol: Managing Brand Extensions Correlation and Regression:
2. Note on Brand Extensions Ch. 17 (MD)
GP: 1. Understand and Evaluate the design used in the case. Please refer to
the paper by Aaker and Keller (1990) (given in the course material).
2. Interpret the results of qualitative and quantitative studies conducted
in the case and make appropriate inferences. Based upon your analysis,
please individually answer these questions and bring your notes to
class.
 What are the consumer’s beliefs about the parent brand Dettol
and what kind of these beliefs consumer associates with the
extensions? (Session 6)
 Which extensions of Dettol received favourable evaluation from
the respondents in quantitative survey? And which were viewed
negatively? What could be the reasons for their favourable /
unfavourable evaluations? (Session 6)
 What was the effect of the consumer’s perception on the quality
of the parent brand, fit between original brand and extension (in
terms of complementarily, substitutability, and transfer of skill)
and degree of difficulty (in designing and making a product in
the extension category) on respondents’ evaluations of brand
extensions of Dettol? (Session 6)
 Whether different elements of the research design such as
stimulus selection, sample size and sample selection were
appropriate in the case? Was there any impact of these on the
research findings? (Session 5)

7. Topic: Examining Data analysis Options and Output Interpretation Exploratory Research
C : Cerenity Sanitizer: Marketing Research for New Product Launch (A) Design: Qualitative Research,
Cerenity Sanitizer: Marketing Research for New Product Launch (B) Ch. 5 (MD)
GP :
1. Was the research design used in study appropriate one? Are the Frequency Distribution,
findings of the study valid? Have the sample size and sample selection Cross-Tabulation, and
affected the results of the study? Hypothesis Testing: Ch. 15
2. Are there different segments existing in the market? What is the right (MD)
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 basis to segment the market for the new product? What advice would Correlation and Regression:
you give to Manan Shah to target the right set of customers during the Ch. 17 (MD)
launch? What should be the segmentation, targeting, and positioning
strategy that could be derived from the results?
3. What could be an appropriate marketing mix that can be derived from
the research? What are the managerial implications of the results that
can help Manan Shah to design the marketing programme? What
would be the long and short term promotional strategy for Cerenity in
the current market situation?

8. Topic: Overview of BRM

Causal Research Design:
C: Rocket Fuel: Measuring the Effectiveness of Online Advertising
Experimentation Ch (7) MD
GP: 1. Was the ad campaign effective? Did they get new additional
customers?
2. Was the campaign profitable? Calculate the campaign RoI?
3. Can you arrive at conclusions about the best day(s) and time(s) of
the week to advertise?
4. What do you understand by the word "experiments?"

9-10. Project Presentations Feedback and Review

Submission of final report at the beginning of the class

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PROJECT BRIEF: BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

GUIDELINES:

Please choose one of the summer jobs your group members might have got. In case none of your group
members have summer jobs in Marketing, please choose two alternative topics and contact the instructors
for finalizing the topic.

1. Conduct preliminary investigation like in CPL (A)/IPL (A) and define decision problem(s),
research problems, information needs and sources of information. You might like to prepare the
matrix chart as discussed in the class.

2. Design a research plan for the research problem(s) and information needs defined in (1) above.
This should contain specification of research study and data collection approach (es). Please use
CPL (B) as a guideline for this.

3. Qualitative interviews/focus group explorative methods could help you sharpen your
understanding of the context. Language data that you capture in this method will need systematic
analysis. This exploratory phase will form the foundation that precedes quantitative and large
scale research surveys.

4. Please save all the raw data- FGD and interview tape-recordings, survey pre-test and final data,
social media data etc. You will be requested to share the folder to the academic associate at the
time of final project submission.

5. Prepare sampling plan and instrument(s) for data collection for one of the major studies, pre-test
the same, and submit revised plan and instrument.

6. Prepare a data analysis plan as detailed in IPL (B) for your project.

7. Data collection and testing your ideas/hypotheses on small scale should help you familiarize
yourselves with hands-on data collection issues. This fieldwork and subsequent data analysis
using software packages should provide you deeper insights that resolve the issues/decisions you
considered.

Your report should contain:

 Sharp definition of problem(s) with justification.

 Research Matrix

 Discussion/learning from Qualitative and exploratory phase

 Research design (including pre-tested instrument(s) on 2 to 5 representative respondents, with

reasons for changes after pre-test) for the study.

 Data analysis plan to make sure that you would be able to resolve the research/decision
problem(s) identified by you.

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  A one-page (maximum) diary prepared by each member of the group recording and reflecting on
the tasks they did for the project.

 Data analysis and insights

 Recommendations

BRM PROJECT SUBMISSION SCHEDULE

S.No. Submission Session (tentative)

1. Stage 0
Names of your group members and one-page note on 3
topic
2. Stage I
Problem Definition 6

3. Stage II
Complete Research Proposal including Research 8
Matrix, Research Design, Data Analysis Plan
4. Stage III
Conducting exploratory interview To be announced by the instructor
5. Stage IV
To be announced by the instructor
Instrument Preparation, Pre-test, Data Collection,
Sample Analysis
6. Stage V
9-10
Project Abstract, Final Report & Presentation