An example of conducting steps 1 and 2 of the 3-steps method to product a partial dissertation proposal: for MBA students (information from perplexity.ai)
[Step 1 related]
My question 1: "I am a part-time MBA student, currently studying the subject of Research Project. I am interested to formulate a research theme that considers the research sub-topics of: (1) strategic finance, (2) business strategy repositioning, and (3) furniture manufacturing business. Please suggest 4 concrete research themes based on these 3 sub-topics for me."
The reply: "Here are four concrete research themes that integrate strategic finance, business strategy repositioning, and the furniture manufacturing business:
Financial Strategies for Global Expansion
Investigate how furniture manufacturers use strategic finance and capital allocation to support international expansion and compete globally, including risk management in emerging markets and investment in supply chain transformation.
Business Model Repositioning in Response to Market Disruptions
Analyze how furniture manufacturers reposition their business strategies and adapt their operating models in response to financial crises, changing consumer preferences, and supply chain challenges, with an emphasis on finance-led decision-making.
Sustainable Value Creation through Strategic Investment
Examine the effectiveness of sustainability-driven strategic financial investments and their impact on competitive positioning and long-term profitability in the furniture manufacturing sector.
Mass Customization and Strategic Resource Allocation
Evaluate how furniture businesses leverage strategic finance and manufacturing strategy to implement mass customization, focusing on capital investment in technology, production flow redesign, and achieving cost efficiency while meeting customer demand.
Each research theme above offers a specific angle for studying the intersection of finance, strategy, and furniture business, and can be developed further into a full research project with detailed objectives and research questions."
[Step 2 related]
My question 2: "Now my more concrete research theme is "how the Hong Kong furniture manufacturers use strategic finance and capital allocation to support overseas market expansion in 2025". Could you suggest 2 related research gaps and 2 Hong Kong public media-reported issues that are related to my concrete research theme that I now have."
The reply: "Here are two related research gaps and two Hong Kong public media-reported issues connected to your research theme on how Hong Kong furniture manufacturers use strategic finance and capital allocation to support overseas market expansion in 2025:
Related Research Gaps
Lack of empirical studies on the role of strategic finance and capital allocation specifically within Hong Kong's furniture manufacturing sector aimed at overseas expansion, especially in the current post-pandemic global economic context.
Insufficient research on the financial decision-making processes and investment prioritization by Hong Kong furniture manufacturers balancing domestic market challenges and opportunities for overseas market growth.
Hong Kong Public Media-Reported Issues
The Hong Kong furniture industry is facing intensified "price wars" and fierce competition domestically, which pressures manufacturers to rethink capital allocation strategies and pursue overseas markets to sustain growth and profitability.
Supply chain disruptions and the slow recovery of consumer demand, especially linked to weak property markets in Mainland China, have led Hong Kong furniture companies to adopt more cautious and strategic financial and capital allocation approaches to support overseas market expansion.
These gaps and issues highlight both academic and practical relevance for your research on strategic finance supporting overseas expansion in the Hong Kong furniture manufacturing industry in 2025. They provide solid directions to frame your research questions and objectives within the current market and financial environment."
My question 3 [backward tracing of proposal elements]: "Could you indicate how the research objectives and research questions are related to the research gaps and the Hong Kong public media-reported issues identified beforehand?"
The reply: "The research objectives and questions are closely aligned with the identified research gaps and Hong Kong public media-reported issues in the following ways:
Research Gap: Lack of empirical studies on strategic finance and capital allocation in Hong Kong furniture manufacturers' overseas expansion.
Related Objective 1 focuses on examining how strategic finance supports overseas market expansion, addressing this empirical gap.
Research Question 1 directly asks how senior managers use strategic finance for overseas growth, providing targeted inquiry into the gap.
Research Gap: Insufficient study on financial decision-making and investment prioritization between domestic challenges and overseas growth.
Objective 2 investigates capital allocation decisions impacting international growth strategies, addressing this decision-making gap.
Question 2 probes key factors influencing capital allocation decisions, linking to this financial prioritization challenge.
Media-Reported Issue: Fierce domestic competition and price wars pushing firms to rethink capital strategies and expand overseas.
Objective 3 explores challenges and opportunities faced by management aligning financial strategy with overseas growth, reflecting this industry pressure.
The contextual focus of all research questions incorporates these practical competitive challenges.
Media-Reported Issue: Supply chain disruptions and weak Mainland demand prompting cautious, strategic financial approaches to overseas expansion.
Objective 4 includes exploring expert and academic perceptions on strategic finance and business repositioning, which can surface responses to these disruptions.
Question 3 addresses emerging challenges and best practices at the finance-strategy-expansion nexus, which relates to supply chain and market uncertainties reported.
Together, the objectives and questions form a coherent response to both academic knowledge gaps and real-world issues faced by Hong Kong furniture manufacturers in 2025. This alignment ensures the research will be both scholarly meaningful and practically relevant within the current industry context."
An overall view of step 2, highlighting the backward tracing of proposal elements (from elements of research objectives and questions back to the elements of research gaps and issues).
My question 4: "In addition to the information on research gaps and the Hong Kong public media-reported issues, I want to also introduce my personal project preference as follow: to conduct (i) in-depth interview 5 senior managers working in different HK furniture manufactures, (ii) a focus group session with 4 senior managers working in different HK furniture manufactures, 1 university lecturer in operations management and 1 university lecturer in global business, and (iii) a desk research to study some business background information. Please consider all these information to come up with a dissertation proposal title, 4 research objectives, 3 research questions, and a brief overall research methodology (with a timeline) for me. Thanks."
The reply: "Dissertation Proposal Title:
"Strategic Finance and Capital Allocation for Overseas Expansion: A Study of Hong Kong Furniture Manufacturers in 2025"
Research Objectives:
To examine how Hong Kong furniture manufacturers utilize strategic finance to support overseas market expansion.
To analyze capital allocation decisions and their impact on international growth strategies within Hong Kong's furniture manufacturing sector.
To identify challenges and opportunities faced by senior management in aligning financial strategy with business expansion goals overseas.
To explore perceptions of industry experts and academics on strategic financial practices and business repositioning for market expansion.
Research Questions:
How do senior managers in Hong Kong furniture manufacturers use strategic finance to facilitate overseas market expansion?
What are the key factors influencing capital allocation decisions for international growth in the furniture manufacturing industry?
What challenges and best practices emerge from the intersection of finance, strategy, and overseas expansion in this sector?
Overall Research Methodology and Timeline:
- Phase 1: Desk Research (Month 1-2)Conduct comprehensive literature review and collect secondary data on Hong Kong furniture industry, strategic finance, and overseas expansion trends for contextual background.
- Phase 2: In-Depth Interviews (Month 3-4)Conduct semi-structured interviews with 5 senior managers from different Hong Kong furniture manufacturers to gain qualitative insights into financial strategies and capital allocation practices.
- Phase 3: Focus Group Session (Month 5)Organize a focus group with 4 senior managers, 1 operations management lecturer, and 1 global business lecturer to discuss themes emerging from interviews and gather expert opinions.
- Phase 4: Data Analysis and Integration (Month 6-7)Analyze qualitative data through thematic coding, triangulate findings from interviews, focus group, and desk research to answer research questions.
- Phase 5: Writing and Finalization (Month 8-9)Prepare dissertation chapters, incorporating literature, methodology, findings, discussions, and conclusions.
This mixed qualitative approach leveraging interviews, expert focus group, and secondary data analysis fits your topic's exploratory nature and small sample scale, aligning with your practical project preferences and academic rigor."
*** Try to post this partial proposal onto Poe.com to generate a more detailed and complete dissertation proposal prototype [re: Task 3 of the 3-steps model]
A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.
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