Jill Montgomery has always wanted to operate her own business. She is investigating the feasibility of opening two coffee shops in the Madison, WI area. Jill has just begun researching this possibility and initially turns to the Internet. In her initial research, Jill locates a number of general industry studies including the National Beverage Retailer Association. She finds, however, that the research provided tends to focus on taste preferences and consumer demographics. Information regarding alternatives, competition, resale margin, etc. is lacking. Jill is thinking about having a local research firm conduct a feasibility study for her.

1. What do you believe would be the top three key decisions faced by Jill, and why?

2. What are key deliverables that a research firm should produce to help Jill with the top three decisions you described in question 1?

3. What type of research design would you recommend for the study

What type of research would you recommend for each of the situations below, and why?

1. The manufacturer of flight simulators and pilot training equipment wishes to forecast sales volume for the next five years.

2. A local chapter of the American Lung Association wishes to identify the demographic characteristics of individuals who donate more than $500 per year.

3. Caterpillar, Inc. is concerned about increasing inventory costs and is considering going completely to a just in time inventory system.

4. A food company researcher is interested in knowing what types of food are carried in brown-bag lunches to learn if the company can capitalize on this phenomenon.

5. A maker of board games wishes to identify who plays bingo

How has the Internet facilitated business research? Explain from several perspectives:

Data collection

Efficiency

Accuracy

Analysis