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HI6008 Business Research

Published : 07-Sep,2021  |  Views : 10

Question:

What are the potential research objectives and questions that can address the problem Why is your chosen project important both theoretically and practically What are the potential outputs and outcomes of your research Write the names of the chapters/sections of your research report, and briefly discuss what you will write in those chapters/sections followed by a brief description of budget for conducting.

Answer:

In any economy, markets play a key role. It performs a variety of functions, such as facilitating the goods, services, exchange of information and even payments. In the entire process, it creates economic value for the sellers, buyers, intermediaries present in the market and for the society which is indirectly a part of the market. In the past few decades, it has been observed that the role of information technology in the marketplaces have significantly increased, whether in the traditional markets or the newly emerging electronic marketplaces, such as internet based auctions (Standing, Standing & Love, 2010).

The electronic marketplaces play a variety of functions; however, the most prominent functions are providing a platform for buyers and sellers, allowing an easy exchange of payments, information, goods, and services between different parties, and lastly, providing a regulated institutional infrastructure to enable smooth functioning of the marketplaces. By providing a regulated institutional infrastructure, the electronic marketplaces ensure that there is a legal framework for safeguarding the interests of all the parties who are involved in the electronic commerce (Zhang & Bhattacharyya, 2010).

The electronicmarketplaces based on the internet make use of the information technology to carry out the above-mentioned functions with reduced transaction costs and increased effectiveness and efficiency. The potential advantages of organizations joining the electronic marketplaces vary from industry toindustry (Wang et al., 2008).

However, in general, it offers an additional channel to the organizations for marketing and selling their products and services at the same time reducing the marketing costs in comparison to the other channel of sales. It even facilitates opportunities for the establishing new partnerships between the suppliers and traders which can be either across the supply chain or within the supply chain process (Chong et al., 2009). It even ensures greater transparency in the market where the buyers can easily access the information about the availability, stock levels and prices of the goods and services.

Research Aim and Objectives

For a research study, it is necessary that the aim and objective statements of the study are concisely and clearly stated. Research aim may be defined as the broad statements which reflect the intended outcomes of a research or the general intentions of a researcher. It is aimed at addressing the long-term objectives of a research and the expectations and aspirations of a research topic (Newell & Burnard, 2011).

In this context, the aim of this research study is to obtain the evidence that supports the Electronic Market Hypothesis (EMH). These evidences are to support that with the introduction if the Information Technology revolution, there can be a larger and better governance of the market by removing the role of middlemen and increasing the opportunities for automation capabilities. The focus of the study will be in determining the impact that the electronic commerce has on the functioning of the marketplaces and the factors that influence the working of these electronic marketplaces.

On the other hand, the research objectives are the subsidiary statements which are created to support the research aim. Research objectives reflect the steps that are taken by a researcher to accomplish the aim of the study. These statements are highly focused and are feasible in nature which indicates the set of tasks that are to be performed for accomplishing the outcomes of the research study (Kuada, 2012).

In this regard, to achieve the aim of this research study, the following are the research objectives formulated:

  • To understand the concept of Electronic Market Hypothesis (EMH)
  • To analyze the impact of electronic commerce on the market structure
  • To identify the factors that affect the working of electronic marketplaces
  • To determine the factors that influence the electronic marketplaces of the steel industry

Research Question

The research question is the initial phase of any research study and may be defined as the inquiry that is answerable into a specific issue. Research question refers to the base of the research study and depicts the direction in which a research is progressing (Alvesson and Sandberg, 2013). In this respect, the research questions for this study are stated below:

  • “What are the factors that affect the electronic marketplaces, especially the steel industry?”
  • “What is the impact of electronic commerce on the marketplaces?”

Research Hypothesis

Research hypothesis refers to the statements that are created by the researcher for the results or the outcomes that are speculated by them. A hypothesis is an outcome of the inductive reasoning wherein the observations are responsible for forming a theory. It is aimed at asking as to what is happening and the reason for the occurrence of a phenomenon (Glasser, 2014). For this research study, the null and alternative hypotheses are as follows:

Null Hypothesis: There is no significant difference in the market governance of electronic marketplaces with the advent of IT revolution.

Alternative Hypothesis: There is a significant difference in the market governance of electronic marketplaces with the advent of IT revolution.

Research Significance

Every research holds importance in the area in which it is conducted. Thus research study, in this context, holds great significance for the organizations who are operating on the electronic platforms. For all those organizations that are a part of the electronic marketplace, this research study will serve as a basis for understanding the dynamics of the Electronic Market Hypothesis (EHM).

With the help of this study, organizations can identify and understand the factors that are responsible for influencing the electronic marketplaces. They are also in a better position to understand the impact that electronic commerce has on the marketplaces. This study will serve to be a useful source of information especially for the organizations that are working in the steel industry as the main focus of the study is in the steel industry only.

This study will provide a strategic guidance to the organizations to deal with the factors affecting the electronic marketplaces effectively and to devise the strategies to take advantage of the opportunities that are created by electronic commerce. This study will also allow the marketers to improve the market governance and automation capabilities. Moreover, it will provide a theoretical foundation to the future researchers who seek to explore the area of electronic marketplaces.

According to Rowley et al. (2009), electronic marketplaces may be defined as the virtual marketplaces which are created on the internet for allowing the organizations to execute the economic transactions. These marketplaces are widely used by the organizations to purchase and sell the materials and other product offerings either directly or indirectly and can be grouped as horizontal and vertical electronic marketplaces (Rowley et al., 2009). There are various reasons for which the organizations use the electronic marketplaces. It can be a motive to reduce the purchasing price, ensure effective purchasing operations, entering new markets or eliminating the risks related to the sale. The vertical electronic marketplaces are those which specialize in a particular industry and offers vertically integrated services which are unique to the specific industry. Steel, chemicals, computers and automobiles are few examples of vertical electronic marketplaces. On the other hand, horizontal marketplaces are those which are not confined to a single industry (Rowley et al., 2009).

In the perception of Bakos (2007), in the recent years, with the advancement of information technology, the electronic marketplaces have gained significant importance in the working of organizations. Information systems have been serving the role of intermediaries between the sellers and buyers of the product in a vertical market, which is creating the electronic marketplace. One of the most important impacts of these electronic marketplaces is that it is reducing the overall search costs of the buyers that he was incurring for obtaining the information regarding the product offerings and prices of such offerings available in the market (Bakos, 2007). The literature suggests that as per the economic theory this reduction in the search costs of the buyers is responsible for determining the impact of these markets on the competitive behavior of the organizations and the overall market efficiency.

In the support of the above arguments, Grieger(2003) stated that even though the electronic marketplaces require major fixed investments on the part of the organizations for the system development, but if these systems are developed, it is likely that the electronic markets reduce the marginal costs that are incurred in establishing the inter-organizational coordination. It also ensures that large volume of market transactions are managed timely before they reach the saturation level. The literature further indicates that the introduction of information technology is bound to favor coordination with the help of market-based mechanisms instead of hierarchal governance mechanisms (Grieger, 2003). This, in turn, results in increasing the role of electronic markets.

On the other hand, O'Reilly and Finnegan (2009) critiqued the concept of electronic market hypothesis stating that the entire hypothesis lacks in acknowledging the key aspects of relationships which exist across and within organizations. These inter-organizational relationships include the manner in which the organizations deal with the risk factors and the basic nature of the seller and buyer relationships. In addition to this, the literature also illustrates that there is also a lack of empirical evidence that confirms this hypothesis and the ways in which it benefits the organization (O'Reilly & Finnegan, 2009; Wang et al., 2011).

In the viewpoints of Fu et al. (2006), there are various factors that affect the adoption of electronic marketplaces by the organizations. For different industries, the factors can be slightly different; however, for all the industries there are certain factors which are common. These factors include the capability to attract new buyers, increasing the visibility of the product, its price competitiveness, increasing the efficiency of the market, lowering the inventory and transactions costs (Fu et al., 2006). In addition to this, the organizations also consider the impact of adoption of electronic marketplaces on the customer interaction and service, relations and the impact it has on the marketing activities of the company (Shah Alam, Ali & Jani, 2011).

Research Methodology

Research Methodology depicts the methods and the techniques that will be used at the time of conducting the research and the reasons for the selection of these methods for collecting the data. In this context, the proposed study will make use of the interpretivism paradigm which indicates that the world is subjective and is socially constructed.

This paradigm states that the opinion of people is based on their subjective experience regarding the external world and which is responsible for defining reality to them. People derive conclusions after doing an in-depth examination of the matter that is being studied (Krauss, 2015). This paradigm will be appropriate for this study because the data for this study will be collected with the help of methods that are based on the subjective relationship between the subject and the researcher, such as participant observation and interview.

For integrating the different elements of the research study together, this research study will use the exploratory research design. This research design will be used to provide a general overview of the research problem and obtaining additional information for the research purpose (Ponelis, 2015). It will be the informal approach for gathering the additional information for the study and postulating the hypothesis.

The justification for application of this method at the time of conducting the study is that it will be used to gain knowledge about the research topic, developing a hypothesis, searching solutions to the research problem, defining terms and establishing the research priorities (Lewis, 2015). This research design will further use the methodologies such as secondary resources, case studies and qualitative research.

For the proposed study, qualitative research method will be used to gain an insight of the research problem. It will include generating ideas and postulating hypothesis for the further research. The main reason for using this research method is to explore the opinions and views that are revealed in the prevailing trends. It will be conducted by analyzing the unstructured data that will be gathered from primary and secondary sources (Long-Sutehall, Sque& Addington-Hall, 2010; Ormston et al., 2014).

The research will make use of the deductive approach as it will help the researcher in filtering the information gathered for the research purpose in order to derive the relevant and precise information for the study. This will facilitate the researcher in developing the assumptions that will be required for completing the research in a successful manner. Moreover, as this approach focuses on making an incremental contribution to the existing theories, it will help the researcher in studying the dynamics of the electronic market hypothesis and the factors that affect the electronic marketplaces.

The data for the study will be gathered with the help of both the primary data collection methods and secondary data collection methods. As a part of the primary data collection process, the data will be gathered with the help of three methods, namely- interviews, participant observation, and personal communication. The interviews will be conducted with five senior managers of the organizations that are working in the steel industry and have an exposure to the electronic marketplaces. The interview method will allow the researcher to obtain personalized opinions of the senior managers and will enhance the quality of the research (Rowley, 2012).

The participant observation method will enable the researcher to observe all the participants that are a part of the research project. Under the personal communication method, the researcher will informally communicate with the senior executives of different electronic markets, journalists, logistic providers and employees of the organization. This method is adopted so that a variety of opinions can be collected through different people to broaden the base of the research.

On the other hand, the secondary data collection methods will include documentations along with the archive records. This will include the business plans of the organization, published reports, files, financial reports, newspaper articles, magazines and slideshows, and emails. This data will also include reviewing the work of different scholars and academicians regarding the electronic markets.

The research will also include two case studies, the first case will be an example of failed attempt of the organizations in the launch of an electronic marketplace and the second case will cover the dynamics of the steel trading market. The researcher will adopt a cross case analytical approach to analyze the various initiatives adopted by the IT units for testing the hypothesis and determining the variables that are necessary for the viability of an electronic marketplace (McGuiggan & Lee, 2008). The cases will be selected on the basis of theoretical sampling wherein the data will be collected for the generation of theory. The researcher will collect the codes along with the cases and analyze it to identify the data that is to be collected in the next phase.

For selecting the participants of the interview process, convenience sampling will be used to reduce the time, cost and efforts of the researcher (Etikan, Musa & Alkassim, 2016). The primary data will be analyzed with the help of thematic analysis method wherein different themes will be developed for analyzing the responses of the participants. For analyzing the data gathered with the help of secondary sources (case studies), case study research method will be used.

This will help the researcher in analyzing the data within the same situation in which the activity takes place. Moreover, this method will not only describe the gathered data in the real life environment but will also allow the researcher to know about the complexities of the real life situations which is not possible in the case of survey or experimental research methods (Zainal, 2007).

Organization of the Research Study

In order to address the aim of the research and to achieve the intended outcomes, this study will be organized in six chapters, which are as follows:

In this chapter, the overall context of the study will be presented. This will include the research hypothesis, aim, objectives, research questions, and the significance for conducting the research. This chapter will provide an overview of the entire research.

This chapter will focus on providing the theoretical description to the concept of Electronic Market Hypothesis (EMH) and the factors that affect the electronic marketplaces. It will also induce the information regarding the impact that the electronic commerce has on the marketplaces with special reference to the steel industry. It will provide a synthesized knowledge about the topic by taking into consideration the viewpoints of different scholars and academicians.

This chapter will provide the information regarding different methods, tools, and techniques that will be used during the course of the study. It will also provide the reasons for the methods that are applied to the study to address the research question in an adequate manner.

In this chapter, the data gathered with the help of the methods as discussed in the previous chapter will be analyzed to derive the findings. These findings will be analyzed in order to derive the logical conclusion of the research study.

In this chapter, the findings of the study as derived in the previous chapter will be discussed in the light of secondary literature. This will be done to determine the consistency of the findings with the already available literature.

This chapter will provide the summarized view of the entire research study and restate the findings of the study. It will also contain certain recommendations that will be made in the context of the research study and for the future research.

Project Schedule

As per the table given below, the research will start with the presentation of the research proposal and its acceptance, after which the literature will be reviewed to develop a theoretical foundation for the research study. It will be followed by research methodology and collection of data. The gathered data will be analyzed, discussed and will be presented in the form of findings. In the last, references used in the research will be arranged in alphabetical order and abstract for the entire study will be written. The final research study will be developed after proofreading, editing, and formatting.

References

Alvesson, M., & Sandberg, J. (2013). Constructing Research Questions: Doing Interesting Research. London: SAGE.

Bakos, J. Y. (2007). A strategic analysis of electronic marketplaces. MIS quarterly, 295-310.

Chong, A. Y. L., Lin, B., Ooi, K. B., & Raman, M. (2009). Factors affecting the adoption level of c-commerce: An empirical study. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 50(2), 13-22.

Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1-4.

Fu, H. P., Ho, Y. C., Chen, R. C., Chang, T. H., & Chien, P. H. (2006). Factors affecting the adoption of electronic marketplaces: a fuzzy AHP analysis. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 26(12), 1301-1324.

Glasser, S. P. (2014). Essentials of Clinical Research. Berlin: Springer.

Grieger, M. (2003). Electronic marketplaces: A literature review and a call for supply chain management research. European journal of operational research, 144(2), 280-294.

Krauss, S.E. 2005. Research Paradigms and Meaning Making: A Premier. The Quantitative Repor,. 10(4), pp. 758-770.

Kuada, J. (2012). Research Methodology: A Project Guide for University Students.Samfundslitteratur.

Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Health promotion practice, 309-325.

Long-Sutehall, T. Sque, M. and Addington-Hall, J. 2010. Secondary analysis of qualitative data: a valuable method for exploring sensitive issues with an elusive population? Journal of Research in Nursing, 16(4), pp. 335–344.

McGuiggan, R., & Lee, G. (2008). Cross-Case Analysis: An Alternative Methodology Robyn McGuiggan and Geoffrey Lee, University of Western Sydney. In Australian & New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference 2008, 1-7.

Newell, R., & Burnard, P. (2011). Research for Evidence-Based Practice in Healthcare. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

O'Reilly, P., & Finnegan, P. (2009). Electronic Marketplaces: Focus and operational characteristics. Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems, 21(2), 2-12.

Ormston, R., Spencer, L., Barnard, M., & Snape, D. (2014). The foundations of qualitative research. Qualitative research practice. A guide for social science students and researchers, 1-25.

Ponelis, S. R. (2015). Using Interpretive Qualitative Case Studies for Exploratory Research in Doctoral Studies: A Case of Information Systems Research in Small and Medium Enterprises. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 10, 1-17.

Rowley, C., Yang, H. D., Kang, S., & Kwon, S. D. (2009). Electronic-Marketplaces And Their Evolving Benefits Over Time Part 1: Market Types and Research Questions. City University, UK.

Rowley, J. (2012). Conducting research interviews. Management Research Review, 35(3/4), 260-271.

Shah Alam, S., Ali, M. Y., & Mohd. Jani, M. F. (2011). An empirical study of factors affecting electronic commerce adoption among SMEs in Malaysia. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 12(2), 375-399.

Standing, S., Standing, C., & Love, P. E. (2010). A review of research on e-marketplaces 1997–2008. Decision Support Systems, 49(1), 41-51.

Wang, S., Zheng, S., Xu, L., Li, D., & Meng, H. (2008). A literature review of electronic marketplace research: Themes, theories and an integrative framework. Information Systems Frontiers, 10(5), 555-571.

Wang, Y., Potter, A., Naim, M., & Beevor, D. (2011). A case study exploring drivers and implications of collaborative electronic logistics marketplaces. Industrial Marketing Management, 40(4), 612-623.

Zainal, Z. (2007). Case study as a research method. Jurnal Kemanusiaan, 9, 1-6.

Zhang, Y., & Bhattacharyya, S. (2010). Analysis of B2B e-marketplaces: an operations perspective. Information Systems and E-Business Management, 8(3), 235-256.

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