DIFFERING CONSIDERATIONS IN THE CONDUCT OF COMMERCIAL AND ACADEMIC MANAGERIAL RESEARCH

Although commercial research is based on the same methodology as academic research, based on the experience of the researchers, it was felt that the conduct of academic and commercial research differs substantially on several important parameters. The objective of this paper is to understand the nature of these challenges and list them out. The differences start from the purpose of the study to the differences in implementation. While most academic research is more general in nature, commercial research is specific to a firm that needs the data to make an informed decision. The reason for some of the most important of these differences is that while academic research is done by individuals using a small sample size, commercial research may involve a large sample of people in the study at the same time in widespread locations conducted by different sets of people. These create many challenges which need practical solutions. The study found that further research is needed to find solutions.