Strategic management is not purely about deciding how a
business will run: it is also about ensuring that the organisation has the
right information to guide its decisions. Unilever’s latest model of market
research is one that is designed to improve on the thrill and enjoyment of
face-to-face interactions. The company dispatched its research teams using
trucks that were designed as moving stores. The consumers would be encouraged to
purchase the products through promotions and discounts. The customers who make
the purchases are then invited for peer-to-peer discussions.
This approach to research is noted to have been motivated by
the need to create what Unilever termed as the creative gravity. This approach
was viewed as being necessary for purposes of attracting people to come and
participate in the research process. According to senior managers at Unilever,
this approach to research was strategic because it was able to attract
communities of people who had something interesting to say. This was seen as
useful as the research teams would obtain quality responses. This is as opposed
to the usual approach to research where the researcher involve persons who are uninterested
and are likely to be more concerned with getting over the research process than
in actual provision of quality information.
But with the Unilever approach, the communities of persons
involved would come ready to share insights they have wanted to share with the
brand for a long time. This means that the insights would be beneficiaries of
long periods of thought and synthesis. The engagements were therefore expected
to be meaningful and very informing for the research teams. Any strategic
manager would be interested in basing their decisions on information that is
factual and comprehensive. These face to face research processes would help
with ensuring that this is achieved.
But the dilemma in this approach would be apparent bribery
of research participants. Unilever is reported to have free food trucks in
exchange for exchange for participation in the research process. The persons
who went for the sessions but did not want to participate in the research would
pay for the food while those participating would get free food. This goes
against the principles of objective research that bar researchers from coercing
or enticing people to take part in a research study. The reason why
participants are not to be enticed is because the researchers need to be more
certain that the information being collected is objective. ‘
Where the participants feel like they owe the researcher
some debt of gratitude, they are likely to lose objectivity and give
information that they think the researcher wants to hear. Such a pool of
participants may not be very helpful in providing reliable information that can
guide effective strategic management. But this weakness could be overcome by
thoroughly briefing the participants on the need to provide objective
evaluations without considering what they might think the researchers would
like to hear.
The Unilever approach may need to be contrasted with
emerging forms of research such as data analytics to determine the relevant
value of each method. But what is clear is that this approach is more engaging
and likely to be more enjoyable to both the researchers and the participants.
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