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BUS 311-BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

MID-SEMESTER EXAMINATION

Date: 19th March, 2016 Time: 08:30-11:30 AM

Instructions:

1. This paper has two sections

2. Section A is compulsory and is worth 40 marks
3. Answer any three questions from section B
4. You must be provided with formulae on the last page, please check.
5. Start answering each question on a separate page in the answer booklet
provided.
6. Read all questions carefully to determine exactly what is required before
attempting to answer.
7. Show all your working neatly
8. DO NOT TURN OVER THIS COVER UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO BY
THE INVIGILATOR.

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 SECTION A: COMPUSORY

QUESTION ONE

SAMPLING TECHNICS IN RESEARCH

Alan was a part-time student at Exploits University who wanted to investigate some
aspect of small firm internationalization, as there was relatively little existing research
on the effects of globalization and falling trade barriers on small firms, and little was
known about how they related to a globalized economy. From his studies he was aware
that until the mid-1990s small firms were regarded as only minor players in
international markets because of their size and limited resources (Zaheer, 1995), but
that these views were changing.

From conducting a literature review Alan had discovered that a particularly interesting
type of small firm had emerged which was active globally, often from or close to
inception (Coviello and McAuley, 1999). Many of these small firms did not conform to
the received wisdom of internationalization ‘stage’ theories (Knight and Cavusgil, 1996).
He felt he had discovered an emerging stream of research, where rapidly
internationalizing small firms were the subject of increased academic and public policy
interest. Alan decided to focus his research project on exploring how such firms
overcame their perceived liabilities of age, size and scarce resources to compete
successfully internationally.

One of the most interesting developments in Alan’s work life had been the continuing
advances in information communications technology (ICT).From his literature review he
was aware that web technology and the Internet allowed firms in different locations to
interact with ease, often in real time, and to adopt new business models and practices
(Hoffman and Novak, 1995; Indermaaur, 1997). He also observed that a website could
give a small firm global reach, allowing them to serve even the narrowest of niche
markets internationally. It appeared that the Internet was an indispensable technology
that governments around the world were encouraging small firms to adopt.

Alan decided that his research would examine the internationalization processes of
small Internet enabled firms. However, as prior enquiries in this area had tended to
concentrate on single country studies, particularly the United States or he United
Kingdom, he wanted to compare countries. He decided to focus on Canada and Ireland.

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This presented him with some difficulties, as he was a part-time student with no
flexibility to travel or the funds to do so.

Alan decided that he needed a purposive sample of Internet-enabled small firms for his
study, but as no easily identifiable databases existed he had to construct his own
sampling frame. From studying country and industry reports obtained on the Internet
he discovered that there was a cluster of potentially suitable firms in the ‘Canadian
Technology Triangle’ close to Waterloo, Ontario, and also around the Greater Dublin
and Belfast areas of Ireland. He therefore concentrated his search in those locations.

Once Alan established that there were sufficient online resources from which he could
build a sample, he established the criteria each small firm would have to meet in order
to be included. In particular, he was concerned that they were independent. He then
designed an information sheet, with headings for each piece of information he required.
This contained sections on the profile of the firm, its founding history, what funding had
been received, its export activities, its foreign market entry modes, partnerships and
alliances, market spread, and other relevant information. A lot of information was
obtained initially from firms’ websites, but Alan continued his searching and found
additional data on firms on export promotion agency websites officers and so on.
Altogether, he screened almost 200 firms, in order to find 50 in each location that met
his selection criteria. All of the data were collated onto his information sheet and, by
this stage, he had 80–90 per cent of the data he needed for his study. However, some
data gaps remained.

For example, he rarely found sales revenue figures for firms and often could not find
the year of entry into the first export market. Despite this, he knew that they had
internationalized rapidly as they were active in several countries by the time they were
two years old. In the second stage of his research, Alan contacted the firms’ chief
executive officers by telephone and explained the purpose of his study.

Chief executives were asked if they would complete the information sheet on their small
firm, which was then e-mailed to them. The chief executives corroborated the
information already on the sheet, addressed specific highlighted information gaps and
commented on various aspects of the firm’s internationalization behavior and strategy.
In addition, some maintained an ongoing email dialogue with Alan during the research
period. A total of 66 usable replies were obtained, resulting in a response rate of 66 per
cent, evenly distributed across the two research locations. The additional information
gathered during this stage were incorporated into Alan’s database and analyzed,
generating profiles of the firms and establishing patterns of internationalization

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behavior. From these analyses he demonstrated the crucial role the Internet played in
the internationalization of these Canadian and Irish firms.

[SOURCE: Saunders, M. et al (2007) Research Methods for Business

Students. New York: Pearson Education Limited].

Questions
a. Advise Alan on the need of employing non probability sampling method as
opposed to probability sampling method. (10 marks)
b. Suppose you were commissioned by Alan to do the research on his behalf, what
would be specific typology of non-probability method? Justify your choice
(10 marks)
c. Suggest and explain how Alan should structure his data for this paper
(12 marks).

d. Write an account of justification of online surveys as used by Alan in this

research paper (8 marks)
(TOTAL: 40 MARKS)

SECTION B: (60 MARKS-ANSWER ANY THREE QUESTIONS)

QUESTION TWO

You have been requested to make a presentation on whether the management of your
organization requires the knowledge of Business Research Methods or not in her
business undertakings, clearly explain the issues that you would cover in your
presentation.
(20 MARKS)

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 QUESTION THREE
With illustrations, explain how you would go about formulating a research problem
(20 MARKS).

QUESTION FOUR

Define Research and clearly differentiate research from other ways of knowing things
(20 MARKS).

QUESTION FIVE
Using relevant examples explain the following structures of data as used in Research
Methods;
a. Cross-Sectional Data (5 marks)
b. Time Series Data (5 marks)
c. Pooled Cross Sections (5 marks)
d. Panel or Longitudinal Data (5 marks)

(TOTAL: 20 MARKS)

END OF PAPER!!!!!!!

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