Current Business Research Project Paper

Current Business Research Project Paper

RES/341

Research and Evaluation I

University of Phoenix

April 12, 2010

Dr. Jon Webber

Current Business Research Project Paper

Introduction

Business research is a systematic investigation that provides information to help lead management in the decision-making process. More distinctively, it is the process of how an organization conducts planning, obtaining, analyzing, and disseminating pertinent data and information with awareness to decision makers in taking the right course of action. Business research helps management take advantage in improving the performance of the organization.

This business research study was on business-to-business communications related to inter-organizational relationships with interest in the communication process during buyer to seller transactions. The exchange of communication between the seller and the buyer has not been address from start to completion during the transaction.

Business Problems under Investigation

"Communication media preferences in business-to-business transactions: an examination of the purchase process" (Cano, Cynthia Rodriguez, James S. Boles, and Cynthia J. Bean 2005).

The communication process in business-to-business transactions has been flooding and overwhelming organizations. Managers have documented high volume of messages, phone calls, voice messages, e-mails, business letters interoffice correspondence per day from buyers or sellers. The perceptions of business to business transactions have a disruptive effect on the work patterns in the organization in the form sheer volume between buyers and sellers. The organization managers are seeking more efficient methods of communications.

In routine electronic communications organization members in particular the e-mails system is accepted as critical in buying or selling because most organization team members require the use of e-mails and text messaging to manage their work. On occasion there has been some fear that e-mail may not be utilized correctly in transaction with buyers or sellers. Whereas the sellers are able to use e-mail to correspond with buyers in a professional way, and sometimes it doesn't work appropriately or in a particular way all the time. When e-mail starts to take the place of face-to-face meetings or dealings by the telephone that affected the performance of its members could affect the organization's profit margin.

Data Collection Methods Used

Student from a university collected data for this research study by administering surveys to purchasing agents and sellers engaged in business-to-business sales. The research was based on a broad sample of organizations that conduct business-to-business exchanges between buyers and sellers. The data that was examined for this research project incorporated the responses from 131 buyers and 141 sellers (Cano, Cynthia Rodriguez, James S. Boles, and Cynthia J. Bean 2005).

The respondents were measured by asking to consider a particular major sale and purchase in completing the eight steps in the purchase process with seven choices in communications media by selecting their "media preferences choice of "e-mail, telephone, face-to-face, written, fax for each phase of the purchase process" (Cano, Cynthia Rodriguez, James S. Boles, and Cynthia J. Bean 2005). The buyers to sellers were requested to rank their contacts in their media communication choices for each segment by