Research objectives: some examples

Research objectives: some examples taken from academic journal articles

Prepared by Joseph, K.K. Ho                     Dated: January 3, 2017

Example 1

Doherty, A.M. 2009. “Market and partner selection processes in international retail franchising” Journal of Business Research 62, Elsevier: 528-534.

“…this study has the following objectives:

1. To explore how international retail franchisors select international markets.

2. To identify the key factors influencing the process of market selection for international retail franchisors.

3. To explore how international retail franchise firms choose international franchise partners.

4. To identify the key factors influencing partner selection for international retail franchisors”

Example 2

Andrews, L. and C. Bianchi. 2013. “Consumer internet purchasing behaviour in Chile” Journal of Business Research 66, Elsevier: 1791-1799.

“While recognizing the extensive research behind consumer adoption models, the intention is to examine Chilean consumers' attitudes and behavior towards purchasing on the Internet using TRA to achieve two objectives. First, this study provides a counterpoint to the important research by Nasco, Grandón, et al. (2008) with Chilean managers in small to medium size enterprises (SMEs). The argument is that SME managers should understand their own intentions to adopt e-commerce, but, more importantly, what factors influence their potential consumers' take-up of Internet purchasing. Using the same theory as Nasco, Grandón, et al. (2008) provides a comparable study to identify suitable managerial insights. Second, applications of TRA to consumers' intentions to adopt Internet purchasing form a significant body of consumer behavior research (Taylor & Strutton, 2009), particularly in the United States. However, researchers argue that e-commerce adoption research applied in developed countries may not necessarily be as relevant for under developed countries, such as those in Latin America, due to differing cultural dimensions (Gong, 2009; Grandón et al., 2010; Nasco, Grandón, et al., 2008). To this date, studies that use TRA to examine consumers' Internet purchasing in Latin American countries are not available. The authors argue that the intuitive nature of TRA reinforces the applicability of this model to an investigation of Internet purchasing behavior in Chile. The objective of this study, therefore, is to address the limitations noted in the consumer behavior research, using Chile as a representative Latin American developing country….”

Example 3

 Sandulli, F.D., P.M.A. Baker, J.I.L. Sánchez. 2013. “Can small and medium enterprises benefit from skill-biased technological change?” Journal of Business Research 66, Elsevier: 1976-1982.

“The main objective of this empirical analysis is to examine the combined effect of technological change, cognitive and technical skills and workforce age on the efficiency of small firms”

Example 4

Prasad, A. and I. Holzinger. 2013. “Seeing through smoke and mirrors: A critical analysis of marketing CSR” Journal of Business Research 66, Elsevier: 1915-1921.

“Taken collectively, our central objective is to respond to the recent question posed by Balmer and Greyser (2006, p. 732) regarding corporate level marketing: “Can we, as an institution, have meaningful, positive and profitable bilateral on-going relationships with customers, and other stakeholder groups and communities?” To address this question it is crucial to not only identify the advantages, but also the potential pitfalls, of corporate marketing of CSR. Namely, we consider how corporate marketing can engender corporate social irresponsibility”