research proposal d's

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[Type the document title] June 4, 2010

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Contents:1. Introduction

1.1. Company background

1.2. Context

1.3. Strategic importance

1.4. Research objectives

2. Literature Review

2.1. International marketing strategy

2.2. Models

2.3. Conceptual Framework

3. Research Methodology

3.1. Research philosophies

3.1.1. Positivism

3.1.2. Interpretivism

3.1.3. Realism

3.2. Research approaches

3.3. Research strategies

3.4. Choices

3.5. Time horizons

3.6. Techniques and procedures

3.7. Triangulation, validity and reliability

4. Research design and limitations




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5. Bibliography

International marketing strategy: expanding opportunities for Podravka on theUK market

1. Introduction

1.1. Company background

Podravka was founded in 1934 and with production of top-quality products of

recognizable brands today it is one of the leading companies of south-eastern,

middle and eastern Europe. It has three business segments: food, beverages and

pharmaceuticals. Their competitive advantage is high level of knowledge, especially

technological, constant innovation and investment in education, entrepreneurialism,

ambition, the winning spirit, team work and professionalism. Ha ving these attitudes

allows them to adjust successfully to the growing demands of the market, both

national and international. They find the loyalty of their customers to be their biggest

success. They are present in more than 40 countries throughout the world, withproduction plants in Croatia, the Czech Republic and Poland. The sales rates from

the international markets are 45% of the overall sales which shows the importance of

these markets for the company. Podravka¶s strategy on the European markets is

³realization of the leading position with the above -average growth rates´

(www.podravka.com).

They run business on the principles of sustainable growth and are continuously

increasing the company¶s value. They are concerned for t he environment

preservation therefore use less resources and make less waste. They are also




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interested in progress of the society, community and their employees and offer them

support through their activities.

Podravka employs around 7000 people. They have recognised the creative,

enthusiastic and successful people are the key to their success , and therefore invest

in professional and personal development of their employees as well as funding

undergraduate and postgraduate stud y and offer internship program. Efficiency and

professionalism are rewarded. Podravka has its own management academy aiming

at ³development of long-term competitiveness and socially responsible engagement´

(www.podravka.com). They established a "prof. Zlata Bartl" Foundation and are

involved in supporting students, sponsorships and donation since they are interested

in the development of the entire society.

Podravka produces high quality, practical and safe products, adjusted to the national

cuisines, but with the specific local flavour. Podravka Brands are a result of long-time

tradition, knowledge and concern for the consumers' well -being. The products are

made from selected high quality raw material, using knowledge and modern

technological processes in order to preserve food nutrients. All products are labelled

in compliance with labelling regulations of Republic of Croatia, the European Union

as well as countries where company operates. Podravka has a management system

based on the following standards: ISO 9001 (Quality Management System), ISO

14001 (Environmental Management System), ISO 22 000 (Food Safety Management

System), OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health & Safety Audit System), HACCP

(Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) principles, as well as other standards and

regulations concerning the food industry and its markets (IFS - International Food

Standard, BRC - British Retail Consortium, NSF, Halal etc.). Business Quality




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provides coordinated employee training in these areas at all level s. The systems are

regularly and permanently improving (www.podravka.com).

1.2. Context

Global and international companies find UK attractive for investment for various

reasons such as rapidly recovering economy, regulatory and legal system and the

return to growth. Podravka recognised that the UK has one of the fastest growing

food and drink markets in the world (UK Trade and investment, 2010). They have a

distributing partner in London and are present in the UK market with around 40

products in big chains such as ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons and a number of ethnic

shops. At the moment they are exporting and have no marketing activity in the UK.

The information about knowledge of the product or its existence in UK is passing by

word of mouth. From the author¶s own experience, Podravka products are not well

displayed therefore not visible nor easily found. Hence the interest of the author and

the question of the research: what would be the appropriate international marketing

strategy and what are the expanding opportunities for Podravka in the UK market?

The author is interested in Podravka¶s activities and success on the interna tional

markets, in this case in UK, because Podravka¶s main headquarters are situated in

the author¶s home town, and the company being a desirable employer offers good

career prospects. On the other hand, the question i s strategically important for

Podravka and they offered full support for doing this research since it will contribute

to making their decision on the strategy.




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1.3. Strategic importance

The strategic intent is the direction in which the company goes to gain the long- term

strategic position (Morden, 2007). Podravka¶s intent is to be distinctive in terms of

understanding the customer needs, product brands and high quality products and

business processes. They are working towards their strategic goals such as

developing and innovating new products with added value, effective marketing

investments and further investment in employee development. Podravka has shown

interest in expanding their activities in UK in the nearby future, so the question of the

research is of strategic importance for the company since it may provide the

knowledge about the English market , identify the opportunities and help with

formulating the suitable strategy for expanding their activities on that market as well

as identify the resources needed, both product and human, to support these

activities.

1.4. Research Objectives:

The primary aim of the study is to identify the opportunities for Podravka to expand

its presence on the UK market. Objectives of the research include:

1. to identify expanding opportunities through market research and branding

2. economic viability of expanding strategy,




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3. recommendations and choices available for international marketing strategy

2. Literature review

2.1. International marketing strategy

The companies operate in a complex and constantly changing technologic al and

competitive environment and in order to survive they need to adopt a dynamic,

flexible and cost effective international marketing strategy (Bradley, 2005).

³International marketing means ident ifying needs and wants of customers in different

markets and cultures, providing products, services, technologies and ideas to give

the firm a competitive marketing advantage, communicating information about these

products and services and distributing and exchanging them internationally through

one or a combination of foreign market entry modes (Bradley, 2005:3)´.

International companies must recognise the needs and demands of consumers in

many different markets, influenced by many different cultures and cope with existing

competition on each market they operate in. There are various opportunities and

competitive challenges in the open and integrated international markets for

companies looking for growth (Bradley, 2005) some of the challenges being high

investment cost, time, management team, restructuring, resource allocation,

coordination, human resources, diversity of cultures and market conditions. The

managers must be careful not to transfer successful strategies from domestic to

international market (Bradley, 2005). Business development strategy determines the




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approach of the organisation to growth of business activity and it can be based on

alternative strategic choices such as cooperation, partnership, strategic alliances,

mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, franchising, licensing, direct investment,

divestment (entry modes). Partners are the most important in international markets.

There are two major schools of thought s in international marketing literature ;

standardisation and customisation concerning the issue of entering the new market

with the standardised product or contrary adjusting the existing products or

developing a new one for international market . Internationalisation literature mostly

favours standardisation because of the low costs, therefore competitive price, but it

is unlikely that markets are the same. Advantages of standardization are that people

who travel can find the same product with standard characteristics and quality which

contributes to company¶s reputation; the costs of production, research and

development, marketing, investment and trade barriers are reduced and quality

improved due to trained employees and technology. Disadvantages include the

product not being unique, therefore standardisation creates an opportuni ty for

competitors to enter the market with differentiated product to fit to the customer¶s

needs.

On the other hand, international marketing is defined as tailoring product or service,

communication, pricing and distribution for each market (McAuley, 2001 ) and

adaptation may be necessary to overcome certain trade barriers. Governments

recognise the relevance of international marketing which brings investment and

financial flow as well as new jobs, therefore open their economies to international

companies.




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Ansoff¶s matrix is used to determine opportunities for business growth. It has two

dimensions; products and markets and four possible strategies: market penetration,

market development, product development, and diversification.

Source: Adopted from Ansoff (1965)

Knowledge of the market, product and customers is important source of

differentiation and it means focusing on elements of customers¶ buying decision

process (Bradley, 2005).

Brands are the key sources of product-market differentiation. A prerequisite to

establishing an effective product -market position is developing local knowledge of

what the enterprise is all about. Establish ing the presence is expensive and there

may be barriers as strong culture, loyalty, distribution systems, price, tax etc.

(Morden, 2007). The promotion strategy of the company should include the branding

strategy and identification of the communicating with target groups of customers.

Strategic marketing plan consists of defining corporate mission statement, value,

economic environment, business eco-system, competitors, customers, product

positioning, pricing strategy, distribution, promotion, speed and timing (Tvede and

Ohnemus, 2001). Cultural dimension influences marketing activities and there can




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be national and corporate culture. The internationalisation literature suggests that

retailers will go for expansion into culturally close countries. Sensitivity to cultural

needs of the market is essential and the starting poi nt is understanding the customer

(McAuley, 2001). The most powerful way the companies respond to the trends in

international markets is the growth of brands (Bradley, 2005), brand being a product

hard to copy.

Food is bound with local culture and has low e conomies of scale and it is difficult to

establish global food brands. Global or at least international menu is emerging, but it

is difficult to predict the dynamic of change ± how quickly convergence will happen

and what the effect it will have on markete rs. There are also patterns of consumption

of food and trends to be considered (McAuley, 2001) and existing local brands may

be a barrier. Country of origin and the brand name are of great importance (Randall,

2000, McAuley, 2001).

Company's functional capabilities (marketing and operations) and diversification

strategies (product/service and international diversification) as well as efficient

integration of resources impact its financial performance (Nath et al, 2010).

Marketing capability and market driven strategies are the key to high financial

performance of the company as well as narrow portfolio of products and

concentration on divers international markets (Nath et al, 2010).

2.2. Models

SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The

SWOT analysis is useful tool for strategy formulation by analysing internal and

external factors of the organisation. It generates strategic options (Johnson and

Scholes, 2006), but disadvantage is that analyses is compared to competitors and




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two sides lead to opposite directions. Analysis of e xternal factors which cannot be

controlled is concerning industry or market, similar to Porter¶s five forces, or political,

economical, social, cultural, technical and legal factors which are elements of

PESTLE analysis.

Porter¶s five forces

Source: (Porter 2004)

Porter¶s five forces is model used to analyse the attractiveness of the industry. It

consists of five competitive forces: the threat of new entrants (how easy or difficult is

it for new entrants to start to compete, barriers such as licence to operate, safety

rules, a significant advantage, high costs, distribution channels, switching costs for

customers, product differentiation and brand loyalty, high capital and investment

requirements), the threat of substitutes (how easy can the product be substituted,

cheaper, how acceptable they are and their cost and propensity of customers), the

bargaining power of buyers (position and concentration of buyers, the impact on their




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product, quality, the existence of substitutes, switching costs, information ), the

bargaining power of suppliers (position and concentration of sellers and potential

suppliers, monopoly, significance of the product, the volume of sales) and the rivalry

among the existing firms (competition, dominance or equality in strength/size,

concentration of existing firms, the maturity of the industry, the positioning of the

product and the product life cycle ) (Robson, 1997). It is frequently used tool but the

criticised that it was developed for analysing stable environment and based on the

idea of industry competition, therefore it may not be suitable for today¶s dynamic

environment, but can be used as a starting point and supplemented by other models.

PESTLE analysis provides a framework of six key areas for investigating and

analysing the external macro-environment that influence an organisation (Cadle et

al, 2010): political, economical, socio-cultural, technological, legal, environmen tal

factors. These factors are not controllable and may be considered as threats or

opportunities. This is useful tool for analysing a country and i s normally used in

creation of international strategy.

Marketing mix

Marketing Mix 4P's model was proposed by McCarthy in 1960. It is a widely used

tool for assessing the controllable variables in the environment, identifying the

customer needs, adjusting the product and establishing the brand image. It helps

with formulating a marketing strategy and maximize the performa nce of the

organisation. It is a combination of four elements: product, price, place and

promotion. Booms and Bitner extended the model to 7P¶s adding people, process

and physical evidence which help to gain knowledge about the environment.




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Source: BBC Business studies: The marketing mix

2.3. Conceptual framework

The elements of models presented will be used for development of conceptual

framework because of the advantages they have, although know how, management

and marketing skills, speed and timing, culture, demand for and product familiarity

are some of the important factors identified in literature review , yet not covered in the

models. However, these factors may be assessed by analysing the strengths and

weaknesses of the company.



[Type th e doc u en t tit e] June 4, 2010

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Marketingmix

SWOT

Porter'sfive forces

PESTLE

ti f i i t ti l

ti t t , ii i ilit




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The conceptual framework shows that previously described factors of Porter¶s five

forces, PESTLE, SWOT and Marketing mix will be analysed in the research. Porter¶s

five, Pestle and opportunities and threats followed by marketing mix are helpful for

market research, while strength and weaknesses asses internal factors of the

company. Marketing mix will also help with decisions on the branding strategy. All

together, the analysis will help to choose between standardisation and diversification

and appropriate mode of entry. This leads to and help with assessing the objectives

of the research stated in the introduction.




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Source: Saunders et al (2007): The research µonion¶

This chapter will analyse various elements shown in the diagram and choose the

most appropriate ones for research design framework and answering the question of

the research.




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3.1. Research philosophies

Three major ways of thinking in research philosophy are ontology, epistemology and

axiology.

Ontology is understanding of what is (theories of being and becoming) , and is

concerned with the nature of reality. The two aspects of ontology are objectivism and

subjectivism (Saunders et al, 2007).

O bjectivism

Social entities are external and exist independent of consciousness or experience

and research is finding objective, provable and repeatable facts. Positivism and to

some extent realism are closely related to this perspective (Gray, 2009).

S ubjectivism

The social phenomena are created from perceptions of the actor and it is a

continuous process of interaction and revision (Saunders et al, 2007). Reality exists,

but the nature of reality is determined by individual consciousness. It is necessary to

look at the details to understand the reality and it is often associated with social

constructionism.

C onstructionism

The meaning of the things is constructed or created by the experience and

interaction with realities. Interpretivism and to some extent realis m are related to this

perspective (Gray,2009). People will have different interpretations which affect their

interactions with the world.




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Axi ology studies judgements about value (Saunders et al, 2007) and is concerned

with the role of the researcher¶s values in the research process.

Ep is temology is understanding of the meaning and acceptance of the knowledge,

and concerned with acceptable knowledge in the field. It is determined by what the

researcher thinks is important for the study; facts or opinions an d attitudes, hence

the positivist or interpretivist as well as the realist perspective.

There are three dominant views in business research on research philosophy, and

these are: positivism (objectivism), interpretivism (constructivism) and realism. The

terminology for research philosophy is inconsistent or sometimes contradictory

(Gray, 2009). Gray (2009) discusses the theoretical perspectives which are

positivism and interpretivism, realism being part of the later one. Saunders et al

(2007) discuss three philosophies: positivism, realism and interpretivism. Collis and

Hussey (2003) discuss positivism and phenomenology. Easterby -Smith et al (2008)

discuss positivism, relativism and social constructionism.

3.1.1. Positivism

Positivism is scientific, rather than philosophical, deals with facts, not values. It

argues that reality is what is observable, and can be measured through objective

methods. The findings are replicable, quantifiable, statistical and can be generalised.

On the other hand, they are limited beca use they do not discover the meaning of the

data. It is based on empirical experience and believe s that reality is what can be

proven because the world operates within laws and can be measured by empirical

study (Gray, 2009). It is often related to natural sciences such as physics, where

results can be measured and generalised. This approach ignores the subjective




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state of an individual and sees the researcher as independent (Collis and Hussey,

2003).

3.1.2. Interpretivism (Social Constructionism)

Interpretivism includes symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, realism,

hermeneutics and naturalistic inquiry (Gray, 2009). This approach is based on rich

data therefore gives better insight into social processes. It recognises the complexity

of the reality. It is more suitable for business research since it is context specific. It is

the opposite perspective to positivism and is concerned with subjective aspects of

human behaviour, focusing on the meaning rather tha n measurement and was

developed as a result of criticism of positivism (Collis and Hussey, 2003) . However,

the data collection and analysis is long and difficult and findings are less reliable.

Contrasts of positivismand socialconstructionism

Positivism Socialconstructionism

The observer must be independent is part of what is beingobserved

Human interests should be irrelevant are the main drivers of scienceExplanations must demonstrate

causalityaim to increasegeneral understandingof the situation

Research progressesthrough

hypotheses anddeductions

gathering rich datafrom which ideas areinduced

Concepts need to be defined sothat they can bemeasured

should incorporatestakeholder perspectives

Units of analysis statistical probability may include thecomplexity of µwhole¶situations

Generalisation through statistical probability theoretical abstractionSampling requires large numbers

selectedrandomly

small numbers of cases chosen for specific reasons

Source: Adapted from Easterby-Smith et al (2008)




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3.1.3. Realism

Realism accepts values of all data sources, enables generalisation, but requires

large samples (Easterby-Smith et al, 2008). The external reality is out there

independent of the observer and can be analyse d, but there are phenomena that

cannot be observed. Truth is relative. It is similar to positivism by scientific approach

to development of knowledge. There are two types of realism, direct and critical.

Direct explains that what you see is what you get, and what we experience is true;

and critical that what we experience is just senses and some things are merely

illusions or representation of the real (Saunders et al, 2007). The critical realism

acknowledges change and importance of multi -level study therefore it is much more

suitable for business and management re search. Esterby-Smith et al (2008) state

that realism is more about identifying what the reality is rather than discovering it.

Saunders et al (2007) state that business and management research is often a

mixture between positivist and interpretivist, ref lecting the realism approach.

Critical realism, having the characteristics of both positivism and interpretivism, is

identified as the best option to assess the research question stated in the

introduction.

3.2. Research approaches

Research approaches can be deductive or inductive. Deductive is proposing start

with working theory, design a research methodology, collect, analyse data and

agree/disagree with the original starting theory. It collects quantitative data and it is

closer to positivist perspective and does not have the alternative explanations nor

takes into the account that humans do not answer mechanist ically to certain

circumstances. It is testing the theoretical proposition by the research strategy




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design to test it (Saunders et al, 2007). It is highly structured and sees researcher as

independent.

Inductive approach proposes start with an idea related to an aspect of a business

organisation, accumulate data, and theory testing in the end. Inductive approach

comes from social sciences. It gives the idea of what is really going on, that is the

nature of the problem. It collects qualitative data, recognises the researcher as a part

of the research process, but doesn¶t need to generalise the findings.

Deductive and inductive approaches are not mutually exclusive therefore it is

advisable to combine the two in the same work (Saunders et al, 2007), therefore a

combination of the inductive and deductive approach will be used for this r esearch.

3.3. Research strategies

Research strategies include experiment, survey, case study, action research,

grounded theory, ethnography and archival research.

Case study explores a situations, subjects and issues in the real context, where

relationships may be uncertain and they are usually deductive (Myers, 2009/10).

Types of case studies are single and multiple case design. The limitations of case

study are that it will only have the internal val idity therefore cannot be generalised,

reliability and replicability are questionable (Bryman and Bell, 2007) and they are

context-specific. A single case study will be used for this research because it is

based on a single company within a specific context.

Case study is usually associated with qualitative research, but both qualitative and

quantitative methods are used (Easterby-Smith, 2008).




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Quantitative research is scientific, presented by numbers in tables and graphs, has

precise research design, hypotheses, definite sample and is related to positivist

approach. The advantages are that it is reliable and credible, can be measured and

easily analysed, is objective and well organised. Disadvantages are that the quality

of data depends on the methods used to collect the data and they can be

manipulated, there can be too much data, lack of interpretation, low validity. It is

most appropriate to positivist and deductive approach (Bryman and Bell, 2007;

Saunders et al, 2007).

Qualititive research deals with meaning, people understanding and behaviour. The

data is produced by researcher¶s interpretation. Advantages are that data are based

on reality, rich, in depth, detailed and focused, it acknowledges the possibility o f

contradiction and has tolerance of ambiguity. Disadvantages are that sample is

usually small therefore the data may not be representative, interpretation depends

on the researcher and may be subjective, findings are more experimental,

explanations may be oversimplified. It has high validity but low reliability and is most

appropriate to interpretivist and inductive approach (Bryman and Bell, 2007;

Saunders et al, 2007).

3.4. Choices

Choices include mono method, multi method and mixed methods. Mono-method is

using one method for the research; multi-methods is using of more than one data

collection and data analysis to answer the research question (Saunders et al, 2007).

Mixed methods as the third research paradigm is practical synthesis based on

qualitative and quantitative research and is likely to provide superior research

findings. (Burke Johnson et al, 2007). Mixing methods enables triangulation (Gray,




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2009, Saunders et al, 2007) and ensures higher reliability and validity. Different

methods can be used for different purposes. They may be related to realist approach

and case study since they require various sources of data and that is the reason the

mixed methods will be used for this research and provide both qualitative and

quantitative results necessary for assessing the research objectives.

3.5. Time horizons

The research can be cross-sectional which takes place at one short period of time or

longitudinal which takes place over a longer period of time and requires two or more

points of measurements while resources and time are limited.

This research will be cross-sectional looking at a problem at one point in time. It is

usually short time, doesn¶t have large sample and therefore it is not representative.

The advantage of longitudinal study is that it can identify changes over time and is

more reliable.

3.6. Techniques and procedures

Techniques and procedures include data collection and data analyses. Data can be

collected through questionnaires, interviews, observations, sampling, documents,

journals, video recordings, secondary data and unobtrusive measures. There are two

types of primary data collection method; qualitative and quantitative (Hair et al,

2007).

Quantitative data is based on meanings derived from numbers, results are numerical

and standardised and analysis is shown in diagrams and statistics and is usually

gathered through questionnaires, observations and surveys. Qualitative data




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meaning is expressed through words, results need to be classified in categories and

analysed by conceptualisation (Saunders et al, 2007).

I nterviews collect qualitative, reliable and valid data by asking questions about

opinions and feeling about the issue. They may depend on the order people are

interviewed, time consuming, have issues with recording and transcription but lead to

discovery and insight on the subject (Saunders et al, 2007) , in-depth and clear

answers. Interviews and questionnaires are associated with both positivist and

interpretivist approaches (Collis and Hussey, 2003). Interviews can be structured,

semi structured and non-directive, focus and informal.

Questionnaires are most widely used technique for data collection. It is a list of

questions, but it is very important how it is designed. Open ended questions are

recommended for gathering qualit ative data. Problems are also the respond rate or

careless responses to the questions, but they are efficient because they tak e less

time and offer anonymity to participants.

S econdary data is data collected from another researcher, and although highly

appreciated, valuable efficient and of high quality, they may be gathered for a

different purpose, old and not important or applicable for the specific context under

study.

The three techniques presented, interviews, questionnaires and secondary data

sources are chosen for the research and will enable triangulation.

Data analysis may be quantitative (statistics) or qualitative which includes choice of

analytical approach (Myers, 2009/10).




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3.7. Triangulation, validity and reliability

Esterby-Smith et al (2008) define triangulation as the collection of data from different

sources or in different times. Triangulation helps to balance the potential strength s

and weaknesses of each method, reduces subjectivity and is accurate. It has a

positivist frame by showing single reality (Grey, 2009). Still, it includes both

quantitative and qualitative data to form sequential picture. Using interviews,

questionnaires and secondary data for this research will enable the triangulation

balancing their advantages and disadvantages, reducing subjectivity and increasing

validity and reliability. Validity is concerned whether the data as well as the methods

used to obtain the data are accurate and honest. Reliability is concerned with

consistency or repeatability of the measures used in the research. The threats to

reliability may be subject and/or observer error and/or bias (Saunders et al 2007).

4. Research design and l imitations

The design of this research will be following:

Philosophy chosen is critical realism, approach will be mainly inductive, but with

elements of deductive, therefore a combination of both, strategy chosen is single

case study, choices will be mixed methods, time will be cross-sectional, techniques

and procedures for data collection will be questionnaires, interviews and secondary

data which will enable the triangulation. The research design is chosen after

analysing the characteristics of various elements and , more important, the

relationships between them. This design seems appropriat e for assessing and

providing the answers to the research question and research objectives.




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Limitations of the study may be the samples chosen to be interviewed and fill in the

questionnaires, sample size, composition, representativeness, access to key

respondents, threats to validity and reliability, managers may have their own agenda,

understanding the issue may be limited, people¶s views and how they interpret the

world around them, objectivity (will the research provide an accurate and fair picture

and conclusions?) and credibility (is there evidence and detail of how the data is

produced?). Results may be suggestive rather than conclusive.

In addition, in this particular case, the company under study has problems with

corruption among the top management and the chief executive. ³Last October police

arrested six top company executives, including the current and former chief

executives, suspecting they had been using company funds to buy its own shares,

aiming to take over the company´ (Reuters, 2010). The investigation about this has

wider meaning since stopping corruption is needed for progress of author¶s country

to enter the European Union. This is important since it may become a barrier to

collecting data inside the company. Also, the company may n eed to postpone or

even recede the expansion activity due to problems with compan y funds (if proven

they exist) and interest in the research as well as providing the necessary data may

reduce or disappear.

The language will probably not represent a limitat ion because all managers are

required to know and use English in performing their business duties, although it

may be uncomfortable to talk in a foreign language while the researcher and

themselves come from the same country and speak the same native language, and

they even may refuse to do so. Also, the language nuances and phrases and

expressions may be misinterpreted.




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Outside the company, Randall (2000) identified a number of problems with market

research such as understanding and predicting customer¶s behaviour, decisions and

reactions; identifying the group of customers and their cultural believes . Furthermore,

the research technique may force the answer, therefore it may not represent the

reality. Market research tends to be reactive, may not turn out useful, since it may

get the same answers. The results may look impressive and the researcher may

believe in them, but not completely understand them. It is recommended to research

what can be measured reliably. There is also a cost associated with market

research.

Various limitations can come from the research design itself since it is chosen by the

researcher and depends on the researcher¶s ontological , epistemological and

axiological views.

Note: word count approximately 4887.




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5. Bibliography

Ansoff, H.I. (1965) C orporate strategy . US: McGraw-Hill Inc.

BBC Business Studies: The marketing mix. [Online]. Available from: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/marketing/marketingmixrev1.sht

ml> [Accessed 10 May 2010].

Bradley, F. (2005) I nternational marketing strategy. 5 th edition. PrenticeHall/Financial Times. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Methods. 2nd Edition.Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Burke Johnson, R., Onwuegbuzie, A.J. and Turner, L.A. (2007) Toward a definitionof mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research , 1(2) pp.112-133.

Cadle, J., Paul, D. and Turner, P. (2010) Business Analysis Techniques: 72 Essential Tools for S uccess . Swindon: British Informatics Society Limited.

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