Research Methodology (BFT 318/3)

Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Once can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation. The Advanced Leamer's Dictionary of Current English lays down the meaning of research as "a careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge. Redman and Mory define research as a "systematized effort to gain new knowledge." Some people consider research as a movement, a movement from the known to the unknown. It is actually a voyage of discovery. We all possess the vital instinct of inquisitiveness for, when the unknown confronts us, we wonder and our inquisitiveness makes us probe and attain full and fuller understanding of the unknown. This inquisitiveness is the mother of all knowledge and the method, which man employs for obtaining the knowledge of whatever the unknown, can be termed as research.

A number of authors (e.g., Brownell, 1995, p. 2) describe accounting researchers as ‘parasites’ who prey on the work of others to generate their findings. The term may be an overstatement, but as with most rash generalisations it contains more than a germ of truth: accounting researchers have little theory of their own (they rely on economics, finance, psychology, sociology and organisational behaviour as their major sources); they have no methods of their own (they are all adapted from the natural and social sciences); and they have few instruments of their own (with many of these originating in or adapted from the organisational behaviour literature). Merchant (quoted in Brownell, 1995, p. 140) even suggests that organisational behaviourists are much better at developing survey instruments than their

Organizations often want to know everything about their products, services, programs, policies, etc. Business research is a systematic way to collect information and get knowledge out of it with a methodology so that the derived knowledge can be used to make decisions. Usually, managers face major issues like ongoing complaints from customers, need to convince financersl bankers for advances, unmet needs among customers, the need to polish an internal process, issues while managing men, machines, materials and money, issues of forecasting and future plans. Research helps us decide rationally. Business research is the process and the tool needed to reduce risk in managerial decision making. Business research is a systematic inquiry that provides systematic knowledge to guide managerial decisions. More specifically, it is a process of planning, acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating relevant data, information, and insights to decision makers in ways that mobilize the organization to take appropriate actions that, in turn, maximize business performance.

Welcome to the fourth volume of Research Methodology in Strategy and Management (RMSM). The publication of our fourth volume provides a source of satisfaction because our original contract with Elsevier only guaranteed a three volume run for the series. The popularity of RMSM led our contacts at the publisher to be eager to continue beyond their original commitment. We are excited about the future of the series, and have begun assembling Volume 5.

While supply chain management has risen to great prominence in recent year, there are hardly related developments in research methodologies. Yet, as supply chains cover more than one company, one central issue is how to collect and analyse data along the whole or relevant part of the supply chain. Within the 36 chapters 70 authors bring together a rich selection of theoretical and practical examples of how research methodologies are applied in supply chain management. The book contains papers on theoretical implications as well as papers on a range of key methods, such as modelling, surveys, case studies or action research. It will be of great interest to researchers in the area of supply chain management and logistics, but also to neighbouring fields, such as network management or global operations.