Running Head: RESEARCH AND DECISION MAKING
Research and Decision Making
University of Phoenix
MBA 510
CoffeeTime: Using Research in Decision-Making
CoffeeTime is a global coffee retailer looking to expand into Southeast Asia. Before opening up shop, they conducted research to learn more about India's emerging market.
Total Access provided market research to CoffeeTime. From this research, CoffeeTime learned basic geographical facts about India, such as its population and area size. They learned detailed demographical information about the people including age, gender, religion, degree of affluence, their cultural outlook (modern or traditional), leisure habits, and educational level. Demographics were broken down by city so that CoffeeTime could use the information to decide which cities in India they should enter.
What CoffeeTime does not know that they might learn from further research is whether Indians might be receptive to an American coffee bistro. CoffeeTime does not know whether the people of India want to drink expensive coffee drinks at an upscale coffee bar, and whether or not they would visit CoffeeTime. By studying demographics, you cannot predict people's behavior. Even if you survey them, what they say they will do and what they actually do could be very different.
How do the limitations of the data available to Coffee Time affect the validity and reliability of the data? The validity and reliability of the data is in question due to the limiting aspects of the test and focusing on coffee drinkers. Focusing strictly on coffee drinkers and not the percentage of the population that drinks coffee in India will greatly skew the results. Limiting the scope to this population can pose a tremendous threat to ...