Time to Conduct Research?

Time to conduct research in business management?

What research topics in business management should you explore?

Business management students will be required to write a research paper as a course or graduation requirement.

Whether it is at the bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral level, the topic plays an important role in determining the quality of your work.

Research in Business Management

Research is a common undertaking in business school.

The task requires you to explore different business research topics.

Note that one particular area of research in business school is business management.

Along the course, you will be required to write a research paper.  

Conducting corresponding research demands that you find appropriate research topics in business management.

To do this, you have to first understand what business management entails.

So, what is business management?

In simple terms, business management can be defined as:

The process where one is required to plan, organize, direct, and control a business’s or organization’s activities with the aim of achieving set goals and objectives.

Business management research should therefore be centered on the processes that affect these activities.

So, what areas of business management should your research topics focus on?

Focus in Business Management Research

Research in business management can focus on different areas related to the course.

By studying these areas, students can come up with suitable research topics in business management.

Such areas may include:

1. Marketing
2. Financial accounting
3. HR management
4. Economic
5. Business law
6. Supply chain management
7. Finance
8. Information and communication

Research Topics in Business Management

You can look for research topics in business management in numerous areas.

Such areas may include:  

Accounting and Finance

In all business management courses, accounting and finance is a core area of study.

It therefore presents different ideas for research topics in business management.

Per se, if you are looking for quantitative research topics in business management, accounting and finance is a good place to start from.

Key areas may include:

1. Banking and financial intermediation
2. Asset pricing and financial markets
3. Business history
4. Financial accounting and auditing
5. SME finance
6. Corporate finance
7. Behavioral finance
8. Venture capital and private equity
9. Corporate governance
10. Credit management
11. Organizations: ownership, governance and performance
12. Sustainable finance and ESG
13. Pensions
14. Fraud detection- Blockchains, cybercrime
15. Financial forecasting- uncertainties in modern environment

International Business

International business is another area you can look for research topics in business management.

It is an interesting area considering the growing importance of international trade.

The area could be more suitable for qualitative research topics in business management.

Key topics may explore issues such as:

1. Governance of global value chains (GVCs)
2. The theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE)
3. International business policy
4. SDGs and grand challenges
5. Emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs)
6. Global health and international business
7. International business, migration and society 
8. Cross-cultural management, diversity and inclusion  
9. Immigration and labor
10. Global monopolies- international mergers and acquisitions
11. Regional trade relations- BRICS, U.S. vs. Mexico, Brexit
12. International business ethics
13. Global supply chain management
14. International business strategies
15. Emerging markets

Economics

Economics is also a viable area to look for research topics in business management.

Indeed, research topics in business economics explore some of the most common issues in the field of business management.

Some of the topic areas to examine may include:

1. Globalization
2. Work and labor
3. Financialization
4. Development and wellbeing
5. Environment
6. Infrastructure
7. Innovation
8. Circular economy
9. Macro economy policy
10. Macroeconomic policy
11. Poverty gap- diversity and ethnicity
12. Sustainable development
13. Shift in production methods
14. Economic sanctions and implications
15. Economic systems- comparative analysis

Marketing

You can as well look for research topics in business management related to marketing. 

Note that marketing is a key aspect of business.

Herein, you are likely to find qualitative research topics in business.

Topic areas may include:

1. Retailing and store choice analysis
2. Business ethics
3. Consumer buying behavior
4. Consumer heterogeneous preferences and discrete choice analysis
5. Marketing strategy making
6. Branding and brand equity
7. Green marketing and advertising
8. Sustainability marketing strategies- Bridging the gap
9. Emergent marketing strategy and decision making
10. International marketing
11. Corporate responsibility and sustainability
12. Export marketing strategy and performance
13. Standardization-adaptation of international service offerings
14. Cross cultural buyer-seller relationships
15. International marketing processes
16. Sustainable strategies of multinational corporations

Management

You can find suitable research topics in business management related to actual management.

This is considering that management is the core aspects of a business management course.

In this area, you are likely to explore qualitative research topics in business.

Topic areas may include:

1. Learning and change
2. Leadership and employee motivation
3. Organizational strategy
4. Role of technology in management
5. Conflict management
6. Corporate culture and performance
7. Decision making
8. Diversity and inclusion
9. Human information processing
10. Information management and information systems
11. Leadership and performance
12. Global supply chains
13. Digital transformation
14. Technology and innovation
15. Sustainability

Employee Relations

This is another area to look for research topics in business management.

As a study area, employee relations focus on one of the most important resources in an organization.

Topic areas in employee relations may include:

1. Employment, skills and occupations
2. The new world of work- professions v precarity
3. Labor mobility-migration and citizenship
4. Markets -flexibilization and social protection
5. Changing structures of governance and organization
6. Digitalization, automation, and the future of work
7. Voice, representation and social movement
8. Frameworks for remote work- collaboration, work life balance
9. Labor unions in modern work environment
10. Productivity and performance metrics

Ethics

Ethics is equally an appropriate area to seek for research topics in business management.

Ethics have always drawn attention in business.

This area is likely to produce qualitative research topics in business.

They include:

1. Role of leadership in corporate social behavior
2. Whistleblowing rules in cooperate space
3. Ethical sourcing of products and raw materials
4. Issues around tax avoidance
5. Diversity and inclusion within the workplace
6. Impacts of ethics training programs on compliance
7. Stakeholder involvement in cooperate ethical behavior
8. Consumer protection practices in business
9. Cooperate social responsibility
10. Role of ethics in strategic planning in businesses
11. Incorporating ethics in customer service
12. Application of ethics in crisis management
13. Importance of ethical-decision making to organizational success
14. Ethical conduct as a competitive tool
15. Role of ethics in product development
16. Application of ethics in multinational organizations