Empirical Research

Context of
justification

Context of discovery 2
 Language of Research
Conceptual
Conceptual
Concepts
Concepts Constructs
schemes
schemes

Operational
Operational
Models
Models definitions
definitions
Terms
Terms used
used
in
in research
research
Theory
Theory Variables

Propositions/
Propositions/
Hypotheses
Hypotheses
 實徵研究 (Empirical Research)

理論的
抽象的

操作化
operationalization

可客觀測量
可實驗操弄的
 1. 理論 (Theory)
 A theory is a set of systematically interrelated
concepts, definitions, and propositions that are
advanced to explain and predict phenomena (fact).

5
 資源基礎觀點 (Resource-Based View)
 問題：為什麼有些企業可以一直保持競爭優勢，有
些企業卻不可以？
 資源基礎觀點：因為企業擁有獨特的 (unique) 資源

獨特的 持續的
資源 競爭優勢

6
 2. 概念 (Concept)
 「獨特的資源」、「持續的競爭優勢」都是概念
 Concepts are the common ground for people to
communicate with each other about objects and events.
 We abstract meanings from our experiences and use
words as labels to designate them.
 A concept is a generally accepted bundle of meanings
or characteristics associated with certain concrete,
unambiguous events, objects, conditions, or situations.

7
 Sources of Concepts
 Concepts have been developed over time through shared language usage. We
acquire them through personal experience.
 MSN （上網聊天）、 Google （搜尋）、 iPhone （智慧型手機）
 We often run into difficulty trying to deal with an uncommon concept or a
newly advanced idea.
 Examples: see next slide
 We often handle this problem by borrowing concepts from other fields.
 Social capital （社會資本）：人際關係有如資本一般
 Transaction costs ：交易成本就好像摩擦力
 Sometimes we adopt new meanings for words or develop new labels for
concepts
 Computerization  e-XXXX
 E-Commerce  B2B/B2C/C2C/…
 New Jargons
 恐龍：反應超慢的人。  甘乃迪：好像豬。（台語發
音）
 機車 ： GGYY ，龜  莊孝維 ：裝瘋賣傻。
毛，很不上道。
 英英美代子 ：閒閒沒代
 火車 ：比機車更機車。 誌。
 茶包 ：麻煩。  白目 ：不識相
 犁田 ：出車禍。
 米苔目 ：超級不識相。
 2266 ：零零落落（台
 凍蒜 ：當選。 語）。
 469 ：死老猴（台語）。
 Importance of Concepts to Research
 In research,
 We need more precise concept to describe
meanings/characteristics of certain objects, events, conditions,
etc.
 We design hypotheses using concepts
 We devise measurement concepts by which to test hypothetical
statement (hypothesis)
 We gather data based on these measurement concepts
 Example: Attitudes
 Attitudes are abstract
 We must conceptualize and measure it carefully using selected
 Language of Research

Clear conceptualization
of concepts
Success
of
Research Shared understanding
of concepts
 Clarity of the Concept
 A family’s total income
 Time period: weekly, monthly, or annually
 Before or after income taxes
 For head of family only or for family members
 For salary and wages only or also for dividends, interest,
and capital gains
 Income in kind, such as free rent, employee discounts, food
stamps.
 The Importance of Clarity
 Confusion about the meaning of concepts can destroy
a research study’s value without the researcher or
client even knowing it.
 If words have different meanings to the parties
involved, then the parties are not communicating
well.
 A dictionary definition often defines a concept with a
synonym such as, customer （顧客） , patron （惠
顧者） , or client （客戶） .
 How About the RBV Concepts?
 獨特的資源？

 持續的競爭優勢？
 3. 構念 (Construct)
 Jay Barney 將「獨特的資源」進行釐清，指出具有
下列特質
 珍貴的 (valuable)

 稀有的 (rare)

 不可模仿的 (in-imitable)

 不可替代的 (non-substitutable)

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 Construct ：建構出來的概念
 A construct is an image or abstract idea specifically invented to represent
an abstract phenomena for a given research project.
 Personality
 Attitudes
 Customer satisfaction
 A construct is likely composed of one or numerous concepts. Many of
which will be quite abstract.
 These constructs are referred to as hypothetical constructs because
 they can be inferred only from the data.
 they are presumed to exist but must await further testing to see what they
actually consist of.
 If research shows the concepts and constructs are interrelated, and if there
connections can be supported, a conceptual scheme is developed.
From Concept to Construct
a conceptual
scheme: the
interrelationship
between
concepts and
constructs.

abstract,
cannot be
measured directly

the three concepts

Are bundled to
represent (label) a
meaningful,
abstract phenomenon
 Example: Service Quality
 Reliability - perform promised service dependably and accurately
 Responsiveness - willingness/readiness to provide prompt service
 Competence - possess knowledge and skill to perform the service
 Access - approachability and ease of contact of service personnel
 Courtesy - politeness, consideration, and friendliness of service personnel
 Communication - keeping customers informed; listening to customers
 Credibility - trustworthy, believable, honest
 Security - freedom from danger, risk, or doubt
 Understanding/knowing customer - knowing customer's needs
 Tangibles - physical evidence of service
 How About the RBV Concepts?
 持續的競爭優勢？
 如何定義「競爭優勢」？

 如何定義「持續的」？
 4. 影響關係 (Relationship)
獨特的 + 持續的
資源 競爭優勢
 Independent Variable (IV)  Dependent Variable (DV)
 Predictor ( 預測變數 )  Criterion ( 準則變數 )
 Presumed cause ( 推測的原因 )  Presumed effect ( 推測的影響 )
 Stimulus ( 刺激 )  Response ( 反應變數 )
 Predicted from… ( 依…而斷定 )
 Predicted to…. ( 斷定造成… )
 Antecedent ( 先行變數 )
 Consequence ( 後果變數 )
 Manipulated ( 操控變數 )
 Measured outcome ( 測量的產出 )

20
 再看一個：交易成本理論
 現象：一個產品自己和供應商的生產成本一樣，
為什麼企業會自己做，而不是外包出去？
 交易成本理論 (Transaction Cost Theory)
 因為廠商之間的交易活動需要付出費用，稱之為交易
成本
 什麼是交易成本？
 契約觀點：締約成本、監督成本、協商成本、強制成本
 交易成本 = 溝通協調成本 + 作業風險 + 投機風險

交易 -
外包
成本 21
 命題 (Proposition)
 (a) represents a causal conceptual relationship.
 A causal conceptual relationship describes a situation in which an
independent construct is thought (expected) to influence a
dependent construct.
 In research, such expectations are called propositions, tentative
beliefs about relationships between constructs.
 A proposition is a statement about observable phenomena that may
be judged as true or false.
 Validity refers to the truth of a research conclusion. In this case,
validity refers to the truth of the causal conceptual relationship
between X' and Y’.
 Because this relationship is conceptual, its validity is necessarily
tentative.
 交易成本怎麼產生的？
 理論的假設
 人類是有限理性的 (bounded rationality)
 人類是有投機的 (opportunism)

 「交易成本」本身不容易測量
 但是交易成本發生的前因 (antecedents) 比較容易辨
識
 資產特用性 (asset specificity)
 不確定性 (uncertainty)

 頻率 (frequency)

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 運用交易成本理論解釋外包滿意度

買方的特用性投資
-
系統規格不確定性 資訊系統
- 外包滿意度

-
系統功能變更頻率

這些項目和資產特用性、不確定性、頻率有何關係？

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 實徵研究 (Empirical Research)

理論的
抽象的

操作化
operationalization

可客觀測量
可實驗操弄的
 5. 變數 (Variable)
 A variable is used as a synonym for the construct
being studied.
 A variable is a symbol of an event, act, characteristic,
trait, or attribute that can be measured and to which
we assign categorical values.

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A Variable Is the Property Being Studied

Event Act

Variable
Variable

Characteristic Trait

Attribute
 Types of Variables

Dichotomous
Dichotomous Male/Female
Male/Female
Employed/
Employed/Unemployed
((二分法的
二分法的)) Unemployed

Ethnic
Ethnicbackground
background
Discrete
Discrete Educational
Educationallevel
level
Religious
Religiousaffiliation
affiliation

Income
Income
Temperature
Continuous
Continuous Temperature
Age
Age
 Independent and Dependent Variables

 Researchers are most interested in relationships

among variables.
 Does a newspaper coupon (indep) influence product
purchase (dep)?
 Can a salesperson’s ethical standards influence her ability
her ability to maintain customer relationships?
 Operational Definition
 An operational definition defines a variable in terms of
specific measurement and testing criteria.
 Whether the object to be defined is physical (e.g., a can of soup)
or highly abstract (e.g., achievement motivation), the definition
must specify the characteristics and how they are to be observed.
 These terms must refer to empirical standards (i.e., we must be
able to count, measure, or in some other way gather the
information through our senses).
 Thespecifications and procedures must be so clear that any
competent person using them would classify the object in the
same way.
 Operational Definition
 Operational definitions may vary, depending on your
purpose and the way you choose to measure them.
 Self-report in surveys
 Ifthe purpose is to make a tabulation of the class level of
students, then we may decide to define class levels in terms of
semester hours of credit completed by the end of the spring
semester and recorded in each student’s record in the registar’s
office.
 We may need to provide operational definitions for only a
few critical concepts, but these will almost always be the
definitions used to develop the relationships found in
hypotheses and theories.
Operational Definition
How can we define the variable
“class level of students”?

 Freshman < 30 credit hours

 Sophomore  30-50 credit hours
 Junior  60-89 credit hours
> 90 credit hours
 Senior
 Operational Definition
 Operational definitions are even more crucial for
treating abstract ideas. For example: consumer
socialization.
 Consumer socialization is the process by which young people
develop consumer related skills, knowledge and attitudes
 Mass media, parents, school and peers are all agents of
consumer socialization
 We probably need to develop questions on skills, knowledge,
and attitudes of young people.
 Alternatively, we may use a scale that has already been
developed and validated by someone else. This scale then
operationally defines the construct.
 6. 構念效度 (Construct Validity)
 Construct validity requires that activities conducted at the
operational level be linked to the conceptual level.
 The construct X' is measured by the set of operations X, and the
construct Y' is measured by the set of operations Y.
 Construct validity is present when there is a high correspondence
between the scores obtained on a measure and the mental
definition of the construct it is designed to represent.
 Lines (b1) and (b2) are also broken to show that construct validity
is also tentative.

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Construct Validation Steps
 再來一個交易成本的例子
 觀念性架構：
交易特性簽約後投機行為軟體委外成功

Source: Wang (2002)

36
Source: Wang (2002) 37
 構念定義及操作化
 Asset Specificity (Source: Wang, 2002)
 Definition: Asset
specificity has many types. This
study focused on dedicated and human assets, which
were thought to be most relevant for software out-
sourcing.
 Operationalization
 Five items were developed to measure this construct from
reviewing the literature (Loh, 1994; Lohtia et al., 1994; Zaheer &
Venkatraman, 1995)

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 構念定義及操作化
 Uncertainty (Source: Wang, 2002)
 Definition: Uncertainty was defined as the extent to which
the parties had difficulties in predicting system
requirements, delivery dates and costs at the contracting
stage.
 Operationalization
 As few survey studies have focused on software outsourcing at the
project level, the items were developed from reviewing theoretical
as well as case studies (Richmond et al., 1992; Aubert et al.,
1996a).

39
 構念定義及操作化
 Software Success (Source: Wang, 2002)
 Definition:Software success attempted to measure
performance attainment in three aspects of software
outsourcing: strategic, economic and technological.
 Operationalization
 Nine items were used to measure outsourcing success, which
basically were adopted from the outsourcing success scale of
Grover et al. (1996)

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41
 構念效度
 表面效度 (face validity)
 內容效度 (content validity)
 單構面尺度 (unidimensionality)
 判別效度 (convergent validity)
 收斂效度 (discriminant validity)

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 實徵研究 (Empirical Research)

理論的
抽象的

操作化
operationalization

可客觀測量
可實驗操弄的
 7. 研究假說 (Hypothesis)
 When an independent variable is thought (expected) to influence a
dependent variable
 Such expectations are called hypotheses, meaning the tentative
beliefs about relationships between constructs
 A hypothesis is a proposition formulated for empirical testing

44
 Example
 Brand Manager Jones (case) has a higher-than-
average achievement motivation (variable).

Generalization

 Brand managers in Company Z (cases) have a higher-

than-average achievement motivation (variable).
 The Role of Hypotheses

Guide
Guide the
the direction
direction of
of the
the study
study

Identify
Identify relevant
relevant facts
facts

Suggest
Suggest most
most appropriate
appropriate research
research
design
design

Provide
Provide framework
framework for
for organizing
organizing
resulting
resulting conclusions
conclusions
 Hypothesis Formats
 Research Question  Descriptive Hypothesis
 What is the market share In Detroit, our potato chip
for our potato chips in market share stands at 13.7%.
Detroit? American cities are
 Are American cities experiencing budget difficulties.
experiencing budget
difficulties?
 Relational Hypotheses
 Correlational  Causal
Young women (under 35) An increase in family
purchase fewer units of our income leads to an increase
product than women who in the percentage of income
are older than 35. saved.
The number of suits sold Loyalty to a grocery store
varies directly with the increases the probability of
level of the business cycle. purchasing that store’s
private brand products.
 Characteristics of Strong
Hypotheses

Adequate
Adequate
AA
Strong
Strong Testable
Testable
Hypothesis
Hypothesis
Is
Is
Better
Better
than
than rivals
rivals