Rethinking ways of doing research. Tips and tricks to stay agile and the watch-outs and necessary tools needed for in-housing research.
This paper investigates how workplace structures throughout Europe are changing, driven by the new economic and social environment. New research amongst leading employers in the United Kingdom will help reveal how organisations are responding to the challenges and will help predict the likely effects on the way we work. In particular, the paper reveals how flexible working patterns are going to be key to the success of the European economy and we discover how organisations differ in their approach to changes in workplace structures.
This paper discussed the relationship between a research buyer, Yorkshire Water, and a research provider, Robertson Bell Associates (RBA) Limited. It explores how this relationship has developed over time, and at how a flexible approach has been adopted, particularly beneficial in times of economic frost. The first part of the paper looks at the economic pressures that face the UK water industry, monopoly suppliers who are not associated, generally, with the concept of competitive pressure. A background picture of Yorkshire Water, and of how the research function within the organisation has developed, is provided. The agent-client relationship is introduced in Part One of the paper, but is explored in much greater detail in Part Two. This section also looks at the changing needs of the client, and at how the flexible response from the agent has developed. It details the research that has been carried out, explores the range of techniques employed, and looks at some of the results to date. The final part of the paper explores the benefits to the client of the flexible approach. It discusses how research is managed within the organisation in a way that minimises cost and maximises customers benefit.
This paper considers the role of business information systems in affecting this change. Not driven by technology but driven by business requirements. We demonstrate how, at Bayer UK, the effective integration of data from multiple sources is rapidly disseminating information to where decisions are being made across the organisation. This, in turn, is starting to cause a paradigm shift in the role of market research. Freedom from time- consuming market analysis encourages a more forward looking pro-active consultancy role: exploring new ways of doing business and ensuring flexibility in a climate of change. The conclusion reached is that the successful implementation of 'decision support' business information systems can be a fundamental component in the transformation of the culture of the corporation: making the organisation more flexible, more adaptable and more responsive to customer needs.
SKIM Market and Policy Research was founded in 1979 as an industrial market research company and befriended the PC rather early. Thanks to the enthousiasm of the researchers at SKIM and good contacts with Sawtooth, the American developers of software for market research, SKIM started a software division by the end of 1987. Now SKIM Software Division is selling and supporting PC-based software systems all over Europe. Simultaneously, SKIM Market and Policy Research, the parent company, has built up a name applying multi-variate techniques in the research process and now has a strong position in the market for international computerized surveys. Our main software-tools are: . ACA for (adaptive) conjoint analysis . APM for (adaptive) perceptual mapping . CCA for (convergent) cluster analysis These three systems not only help control proliferation of data, but also help improve quality and quantity of profitable information. The combined forces of SKIM Market and Policy Research and these systems ensure a unique combination of sound knowledge of market research methods and techniques, practical knowledge of users of the systems and a full range of services, all adaptable to your marketing problems in a flexible, efficient way.
Successful enterprises within the whole SME structure are characterized by their high rate of flexibility. This fact forms the strength of SME's with regard to big companies. Flexibility is shown at its utmost in the ability to react effectively on sometimes very specific and profitable share-markets. Changes in environment, which are influential for the profitability occur quite often. In strong enterprises these changes will be signalled quickly and they will equally fast lead to new methods and techniques and/or new products and services. Inventiveness, a strong motivation of the entrepreneur and his employees, combined with short communication lines (both internally and externally) are the keystones for success. It would be interesting to exchange views about inventiveness and motivation, however, this is not the subject of this exposition. We will talk about supply of information. The emphasis thereby will be focused on market-information. Not the benefit or the possibilities of new techniques and media will be dealt with in the first place. We will tell something about the handling of information as it happens in practice and the possible influence of new resources. In connection with this it shall be traced whether and in what way SME's are an interesting market for market researchers.
The paper argues the flexibility and versatility of this approach to modelling in terms of scale, scope, type of marketing problem and type of product field. Six case histories are cited, ranging from a simple use of Trade Off as an input to a quantitative exploratory project, to a comprehensive project incorporating a full repertoire of modelling technology. Emphasis is placed upon the cost effectiveness of micro- behavioural modelling, in that, irrespective of the size or complexity of the project in question, maximum use is made of the data collected, which can be re-worked time and again on computer simulation runs.
Just to summarise very quickly, I have talked about the things which are meaningfully taken into account on a methodical basis in planning industrial interviewing. I have suggested considering:- 1. The nature of the marketing problem; 2. The kind of information required 3. The people from whom the information is required; 4. The nature of relevant activity; 5. The use of the information. All of these things have a very real impact upon the kind of interviewing that is going to be right for any one study. What is important is not to make up rules of conduct which make it impossible to react with common sense to differing situations, but to make sure that we stay flexible enough to carry out the kind of interviewing that the job demands.
The purpose in presenting this paper is to show how a pioneer method of sampling was carried out, how it was validated and the implications of this validation on tourism studies. Before going into the details of the method it might be of help if some of the background to this particular study was sketched out. The tourist resort concerned was Guernsey and at this juncture it would be appropriate to extend grateful acknowledgements to The States of Guernsey Tourist Committee and to The British Tourist Authority for their permission to give this paper and thanks for their help in preparing it.