Essentials of
Marketing Research
William G. Zikmund
Chapter 4:
The Human Side of
Marketing Research
Continuum of Marketing
Research Sophistication
Intuition-Centered
Decision Making
Stage of intuitive
decision making
Stage of development
Stage of
sophistication
Research-Centered
Decision Making
Research Departments
Perform a Staff Function
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Clients
Director of research
Research analysts
Cross-functional teams
Medium-Sized Research Department
Director of marketing research
and sales forecasting
Research analyst
(project director)
Research assistant
(entry-level trainee)
Manager of
sales research
Forecast
analysts
Managers
Researchers
1. Decision oriented
1. Technique oriented
2. Intuitive
2. Analytical
3. Managers like to confirm
4. Time orientation toward:
a. project immediacy (“I need
it now.”)
b. results about future behavior
(“what will sales be next year?”)
3. Researchers like to explore
5. Frugal (“keep the cost down”)
6. Results orientation:
a. managers do not like surprises--when
they are surprised they tend to reject the results
b. concern (“aren’t we number one yet?”)
c. certainty (“is it or isn’t it?”)
4. Time orientation toward:
a. Project prolongment (“later when
we have time for a complete
study”)
b. results about past behavior
(“our trend has been . . .”)
5. Not cost conscious (“you get what you
pay for”)
6. Results orientation:
a. researchers love surprises
b. abstraction (“our exponential gain. . .”)
c. probability (“may be”)
7. Reactive
7. Proactive
Top Management-Marketing
Research Conflict
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Research responsibility
Research personnel
Budget
Assignments
Problem definition
Research reporting
Use of research
Research Supplier
• A commercial marketing research service
that conducts marketing research activities
for clients
• Syndicated service
• Standardized service
• Provides customized research
Greenbook 2000-2001 :
International Directory of
Marketing Research Companies
and Services (Serial)
Considerations for Hiring
Outside Suppliers
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Expertise
Urgency of the decision
Personnel resources
Economic factors
Objectivity
Confidentiality
Quality control
Ethical Issues
• Philosophical questions
• Societal norms
• Codes of behavior
Rights and Obligations of the
Respondent
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The obligation to be truthful
Privacy
Deception
The right to be informed
Rights and Obligations of the
Researcher
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The purpose of research is research
Objectivity
Misrepresenting research
Protect the right to confidentiality of both
subjects and clients
• Dissemination of faulty conclusions
• Advocacy research
Rights and Obligations of the
Client Sponsor (User)
• Ethics between buyer and seller
• An open relationship with research
suppliers
• An open relationship with interested parties
• Privacy
• Commitment to research
• Pseudo-pilot studies
Advocacy Research
• Research to support a specific legal claim
Pseudo-Pilot Studies
• The researcher is told that the study is the
first of many in a more comprehensive
study