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Mgt 6013 Business Research Methods Town Campus Question Paper
Mgt 6013 Business Research Methods Town Campus
Course:Master Of Business Administration In Corporate Management
Institution: Kca University question papers
Exam Year:2014
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2013/2014
EXAMINATION FOR THE MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
(MBA) IN CORPORATE MANAGEMENT
MGT 6013 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS TOWN CAMPUS
DATE: AUGUST, 2014
TIME: 3 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One and Any Other Three Questions
QUESTION ONE (31 MARKS)
Case Study
Team performance in Bafko Industries varies considerably across teams and from month to month.
The senior VP in charge of team development thought that a team training program could improve the
performance of these teams. A consultant convinced him that his firm''s training program, which lasted
only one week and cost only $25,000 per team) could raise the performance of Bafko''s teams. The VP,
however, wanted to experimentally test the efficacy of this training program before he adopted it
widely throughout the firm. So the consultant suggested the following experimental test:
There were 48 teams in Bafko that showed significant variation from month to month in their level of
performance. The consultant chose the 24 worst performing teams based on last month''s data and
assigned them to the training group. "After all," he argued, "these were the ones who most needed it."
The other teams were assigned to the control group. The training group received the training program
(lasting one week) at the beginning of the next month while the control group teams did their normal
routine. Performance scores were gathered at the end of the month. The results showed that the training
group teams had a significantly larger rise and were statistically significant in their performance than
did the control group teams (who, as a group, did not improve at all). The consultant proudly displayed
these results and argued that they convincingly demonstrated the efficacy of his program.
1
Required
a)
Based on the case study, answer the following questions
i)
[18 Marks]
Identify the research designed adopted. Describe this research design in terms of its
objectives, characteristics, methods, outcome and benefits.
ii) Explain the type of statistical test that can be performed in this study
iii) The VP does not understand these findings and more so the conclusion drawn by the
consultant. Using your understanding of ecological validity, explain to the VP whether
the results were valid or not.
b)
Describe the positivist research philosophy along its elements of ontology, epistemology and
methodology.
c)
[7 Marks]
Explain the nature of scientific research. [6 Marks]
QUESTION TWO (23 MARKS)
a) Describe the threats to internal validity likely to arise from experimentation method.[10 Marks]
b) Moderation and mediation provide different ways to model third variable effects.
i) Please define both of these terms.
ii) Sketch a conceptual model to show how each relates to main effects.
iii)
[13 Marks]
Using variables of your choice, please write hypotheses to reflect both.
QUESTION THREE (23 MARKS)
a)
Kenya Tourism Board has commissioned an external research firm to investigate the tourist
perception of destination Kenya. Kenya Tourism Board has hired you as an independent
consultant to assess and validate the business research report presented to them by the research
firm. Describe the validity tests that you would subject the report to, for successful completion
this task.
b)
[13 Marks]
Kenya Revenue Authority has approximately100,000 employees in job categories like state
agencies, commissioners and county officers. Assume that you wanted to draw a representative
sample of 1000 employees. Describe one way that you could draw such a sample and briefly
describe the advantages and disadvantages of this sampling approach.
[10 Marks]
2
QUESTION FOUR (23 MARKS)
a) Write short notes on the indirect procedures used in qualitative data collection.
b) Describe four types of measurement scale applicable to business researchers and identify the
appropriate statistical test associated with each.
[10 Marks]
[13 Marks]
QUESTION FIVE (23 MARKS)
In a study of the moderating effect of firm characteristics on the relationship between board
composition and firm performance by Nyaoke and Owino (2013), a predicted model was proposed as;
FP = a5 +
5BC
+
6FC
+
5
In this equation, a5was the estimate of the intercept and e5 was the regression error termn associated
with this equation.
5was
the beta coefficient of board composition (BC)
6was
the beta coefficient of
firm characteristics (FC) and FP stood for firm performance. Preliminary analyses indicated no
violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity, multicollinearity and homoscedasticity. Hence the
study proceeded with the test of moderating effect using regression analysis resulting in the output
displayed in the table below.
Table 4.1: ANOVA Test of Firm Characteristic as a Moderator
Sum of df Mean F Sig.
Squares Square
Regression 11.077 1 11.077 13.604 .001b
Residual 38.270 47 .814 Total 49.347 48 Regression 37.504 2 18.752 72.833 .000c
Residual 11.843 46 .257 49.347 48
Model
1
2
Total
a. Dependent Variable: ROA
b. Predictors: (Constant), Board Composition
c. Predictors: (Constant), Board Composition, Firm size -sale
Table 4.2: Moderated Model Summary
R Adjusted Std.
Square R Square Error of
the
Estimate
Change Statistics
1 .474a .224 .208 .90236 R
Square
Change
.224
2 b .760 .750 .50741 .536
Model
R
.872
F df1 df2 Sig. F
Change Change
13.604 1 47 .001
102.643 1 46 .000
Durbin-
Watson
1.925
a. Predictors: (Constant), Board Composition
b. Predictors: (Constant), Board Composition, Firm size -sale
c. Dependent Variable: ROA
3
Table 4.3: Coefficients of the Moderated Model
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
Model
t
B Std.
Error
(Constant) .474 .481
Board Composition .649 .176
(Constant) .128 .273
Board Composition .170 .110
Firm size -sales .744 .073
Sig.
95.0%
Confidence
Interval for B
Lower
Bound
Beta
Upper
Bound
Correlations
Zero- Partial Part
order
.474 .474 .474
.985 .330 -.494 1.442 3.688 .001 .295 1.004 .469 .641 -.421 .677 .124 1.546 .013 -.051 .391 .474 .222 .112
.811 10.131 .000 .596 .892 .865 .831 .732
1
2
.474
Required
i)
Describe the meaning of the following assumptions in regression analysis: normality, linearity,
multicollinearity and homoscedasticity.
[8 Marks]
ii) Explain three uses of regression analysis
[6 Marks]
iii) Interpret Table 4.1
[2 Marks]
iv) In reference to Table 4.2 comment on the goodness of fit of models 1and 2.
[2 Marks]
v) In reference to Table 4.3, and model 2 specifically, write down the fitted regression equation
and interpret the equation.
[5 Marks]
QUESTION SIX (23 MARKS)
A study entitled Antecedents of Customer Perceived Value: Evidence of Mobile Phone Customers in
Kenya was undertaken by Muturia, Wadawi and Owino (2014). A factor analysis of the data resulted
in the rotated component matrix in Table 4.1.
4
Table 4.1: Rotated Component Matrix
Component
Variable
1
Value-added service are convenient 0.802
Value -Added service-internet 0.703
Variety of value added service to choose from
Alpha
0.621
Value -added service-Money transfer
3
Cronbach''s
0.856
Value-added service are up to date
2
Factor
0.585
Customer support ( Ease of reporting complaint)
Customer supports(speed of complaint
processing)
Customer support (friendliness when reporting
complaint)
Network call clarity
Price structure(reasonability)
Pricing structure -possibility of free choosing
from
Value
Added
0.808
Services
0.816
0.763
Customer
Support
0.688
0.691
0.593
0.803
Perceived
Price
0.777
0.799
Required
a)
Factor analysis is a multivariate analysis technique. Describe objectives of factor analysis in
business research.
b)
[6 Marks]
Interpret Table 4.1. [6 Marks]
5
Table 4.2 shows the results of a correlation analysis between a set of variables.
Table 4.2: Correlations Analysis
Income
Level
Income
Level
Pearson
Correlation
Gender
Consider
counterfeit
purchase a
crime
Why buy
counterfeit
cables
Consumption
of
counterfeits
Agree that
there are
counterfeit
cables
Ever
bought a
counterfeit
cable
1
Sig. (2-tailed)
Gender
Pearson 0.064
Correlation
1
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.371 Consider Pearson 0.044 -0.049 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.534 0.491 Why buy Pearson -0.016 -0.09 0.099 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.82 0.204 0.163 Pearson 0.053 .148* -0.032 -.213**
counterfeit Correlation counterfeit Correlation Correlation
purchase a cables
crime
Consume
counterfeits
1
1
1
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.458 0.037 0.654 0.002 Agree that Pearson .126* -0.057 .739** -0.032 -0.027 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.045 0.424 0.000 0.657 0.705 Ever bought Pearson 0.053 -.122* -0.023 0.028 0.081 0.011 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.459 0.086 0.75 0.695 0.252 0.88 Pearson 0.005 -0.01 0.089 -.563** .211** 0.076 -0.046
there are Correlation a counterfeit Correlation Correlation
counterfeit cable
cables
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.947 0.883 0.212 0.000 0.003 0.284 0.517
Performance
of
counterfeit
cables
1
1
Required:
a) When would a researcher prefer to use correlation analysis?
b) Interpret the factors likely to significantly influence consumption of counterfeits based on the
results shown in 4.2.
c)
[2 Marks]
[4 Marks]
A further examination of the relationship between gender and decision to consume counterfeits
resulted in the output shown in table 4.3.
6
Table 4.3: Chi-Square Tests Gender * Consumption of Counterfeits
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 4.766a 3 .190
Likelihood Ratio 5.867 3 .118
Linear-by-Linear Association 4.346 1 .037
N of Valid Cases
200
0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .43.
i) Explain the use of Chi-Square test in business research.
ii)
[2 Mark]
Interpret the results in Table 4.3
[3 Marks]
7
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