Two illustrative examples on the formulation of research gap statements and the derived research objective statements.

Two illustrative examples on the formulation of research gap statements and the derived research objective statements. 

This practice note is for study of the academic-oriented dissertation project type that employs the agile literature review approach (ALRA)

Illustration One:

Huber F., Vollhardt, K., Matthes, I. and Vogel, J.. 2010. “Brand misconduct: Consequences on consumer–brand relationships” Journal of Business Research 63, Elseiver: 1113–1120

“Recent research on the relationship between a company and its customers emphasizes the role of the relationship between the brand and the individual (Aaker, 1996; Aaker et al., 2004; Blackston, 2000). In her seminal work Fournier (1994, 1998) states that such relationships are highly vibrant entities that can emerge in various forms. Long lasting relationships can yield concrete benefits for the relationship partners, in particular financial gain for the firm in question (e.g., Reichheld et al., 2000). Yet, thinking for example of Shell's plan to scuttle the Brent Spar oil platform or Google's censorship of search engine results in China, companies and their brands do not always behave according to consumers' expectations. Klein et al. (2004) refer to a company's perceived misbehavior as an egregious act. Focusing on consumer–brand relationships this study takes an interest in companies as brand owners and thus uses the term brand misconduct”.

Research gap statement 1 (suggested): The existing conceptual proposition on the "relationship between brands and individuals" of Aaker (1996), Aaker et al. (2024) and Blackston (2000) that “long lasting relationships between and individual… can yield benefits for the relationship partners” (Huber et al., 2010) has difficulty to explain brand misconduct of companies.

Derived research objective statement 1 (suggested): To develop new concepts and empirical findings beyond that of Aaker (1996), Aaker et al. (2024) and Blackston (2000), in order to explain and evaluate brand misconduct of companies in the Hong Kong retail sector in 2024.

 

Illustration Two:

Son, M.H. and Han, K. 2011. “Beyond the technology adoption: Technology readiness effects on post-adoption behaviour” Journal of Business Research 64, Elsevier: 1178–1182.

“Much of the existing research on new product diffusion focuses on uncovering the factors influencing technology adoption (Huh and Kim, 2008; Shih and Venkatesh, 2004). But the long-term survival and substantial success of technological firms rely on the continued use of the new technology, rather than the first adoption, especially for subscription-based services”.

Research gap statement 2 (suggested): The existing research on new product diffusion predominantly focuses on studying factors influencing technology adoption (Huh and Kim, 2008; Shih and Venkatesh, 2004), while neglecting factors contributing to “the continued use of the new technology… especially for subscription-based services” (Son and Han, 2011).

Derived research objective statement 2 (suggested): To explore factors that can influence Hong Kong consumers’ continued use of new technology-based financial services in 2024.

Additional comments on the research gap analysis for doing dissertation projects:

1. At the initial stage of formulating your dissertation proposal, try to support your research gap analysis with reference to 3 to 4 academic articles.

2. Your initial research gap analysis should lead you to come up with 3 to 4 associated research gap statements (and the corresponding research objective statements). Preferably, two of your research objectives should be the main research objectives, with the rest being the minor research objectives. You could also state that the main research objective(s) constitute your core-focus-domain of your dissertation project. The way to arrive at a coherent set of research gap statements and research objective statements can take the following three sequential activities:

Related study material: on research gap analysis and on the overall research objective profile.