| Course | MKR-7000 Marketing Research |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | Written assignment 1: the role of marketing research |
| Length | About 883 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MKR 7000 Module 1
Is a $1.2 Million Launch Worth an $85,000 Study? Framing a Grocer's Research Problem
Student Name
Master of Business Administration, Thomas Edison State University
MKR-7000: Marketing Research
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Is a $1.2 Million Launch Worth an $85,000 Study? Framing a Grocer's Research Problem
To, From and Purpose
To the vice president of marketing, from the research manager, concerning a proposed prepared-meal subscription. This memo frames the research needed before Hearthstone Market, a composite chain of 22 grocery stores in Wisconsin, decides whether to launch a weekly subscription for ready-to-heat dinners. It translates the management decision into research questions and assesses whether research is worth its cost. Babin (2019) describes marketing research as the application of the scientific method to reduce uncertainty in marketing decisions; the question here is how much uncertainty is worth reducing.
The Management Decision Problem
The decision is whether to invest about $1.2 million in kitchen equipment, packaging, an ordering app and launch marketing for a subscription offering three or five dinners a week, picked up at stores or delivered. Leadership's concern is that competing meal-kit services have struggled with customer retention, while Hearthstone's prepared foods counters have grown steadily. A wrong decision is costly in either direction: launching a service few people keep, or passing on a profitable extension of the prepared foods business.
From Decision Problem to Research Problem
The textbook distinguishes the decision problem, what managers must decide, from the research problem, the information needed to make that decision well. The research problem here is to estimate the size and characteristics of demand for a prepared-meal subscription among Hearthstone's customers, the price they would pay and how long they would keep subscribing. Three research objectives follow, each with questions that can be answered with data.
| Objective | Research questions |
|---|---|
| Estimate demand | What share of loyalty members would subscribe at each price point? How does interest differ by household type and store? |
| Identify requirements | Which features matter most: menu variety, pickup or delivery, portion size, dietary options? |
| Predict retention | How long do interested customers expect to stay subscribed, and what would cause them to cancel? |
Framing matters because the wrong research problem produces precise answers to the wrong question. Measuring general interest in prepared meals, for instance, would overstate demand, since many customers who like the idea would not commit to a weekly subscription. Morwitz et al. (2007), reviewing evidence on stated purchase intentions, found that intentions predict actual buying less accurately for new products than for existing ones and for product categories than for specific offerings, which is why the plan pairs a survey with an in-store test of real sign-ups rather than relying on what customers say they will do. The survey will also ask about a specific offer, with a stated price and menu, rather than about prepared meals in general.
Is Research Worth Its Cost?
Research is worth doing only when the expected value of the information exceeds its cost. Leadership's current judgment is that the subscription has about an even chance of success. If it succeeds, it would add about $2.0 million in profit over three years; if it fails, Hearthstone would lose about $900,000 of the investment after salvaging equipment for the prepared foods counters. Without further information, the expected value of launching is 0.5 x $2.0 million minus 0.5 x $0.9 million, or $550,000.
With perfect information, Hearthstone would launch only if the service would succeed, earning 0.5 x $2.0 million, or $1.0 million in expectation, and would avoid the loss otherwise. The expected value of perfect information is therefore $1.0 million minus $550,000, or $450,000. No study provides perfect information, but a survey of loyalty members followed by a small in-store test, budgeted at $85,000, could reduce the uncertainty substantially for less than a fifth of that maximum value. Research is clearly justified.
When Research Would Not Be Worth It
The same logic shows when to skip research. If the investment were small or reversible, such as offering the meals for a month at three stores, a direct test would be cheaper than a study. If leadership had already committed to launch regardless of findings, research would be wasted. And if a competitor were about to enter the market, the cost of delay might exceed the value of information. None of these conditions applies, but naming them keeps the research proportionate to the decision.
Using the Results
Research influences decisions only if managers trust it. Moorman et al. (1992) found that users' trust in their research providers, built through perceived integrity, sincerity and interaction during the project, was associated with greater use of the research. The research team should therefore involve the merchandising and prepared foods managers in reviewing the questionnaire and the test design, so that the findings are theirs as well.
Recommendation
Approve an $85,000 research program over ten weeks with the three objectives above: a survey of loyalty members to estimate demand and requirements, and a four-week in-store test at four stores with matched comparison stores to measure actual sign-ups and early retention. The decision to launch should be made against criteria agreed in advance, such as a minimum share of members subscribing at the target price and a retention rate after four weeks.
Conclusion
The launch decision carries enough money and uncertainty that research is worth several times its cost. Framing the research around demand at a price, requirements and retention, and agreeing decision criteria in advance, will make the findings usable when the decision comes.
References
Babin, B. J. (2019). Essentials of marketing research (7th ed.). Cengage.
Moorman, C., Zaltman, G., & Deshpande, R. (1992). Relationships between providers and users of market research: The dynamics of trust within and between organizations. Journal of Marketing Research, 29(3), 314-328. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224379202900303
Morwitz, V. G., Steckel, J. H., & Gupta, A. (2007). When do purchase intentions predict sales? International Journal of Forecasting, 23(3), 347-364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijforecast.2007.05.015
Reading the MKR 7000 Module 1 assignment instructions
MKR-7000 requires four written assignments, one tied to each module and together worth 30 percent of the grade, written as professional documents, plus four discussions and a final research study worth 40 percent. The first assignment covers the role of marketing research. Distinguish the management decision problem from the research problem, write research objectives and specific questions, and judge whether research is worth its cost, ideally with a value-of-information estimate. Write in a professional format such as a memo, state assumptions, and cite Babin's textbook and research in APA style. Keep each research question specific enough that data could answer it. State every assumption in the value calculation so readers can adjust it.
How this MKR 7000 Module 1 example is built
The memo states who it is for and the $1.2 million choice at stake before translating that choice into research objectives and questions, which it lays out in a table. A short paragraph explains why framing matters, using a concrete example of the wrong question. The value-of-information calculation is shown step by step, and a separate section explains when research would not be justified, which shows judgment rather than automatic support for research. Research on how managers use studies supports the advice to involve them early. The recommendation sets a budget, a timeline and decision criteria agreed in advance. Read it for how money and uncertainty set the size of the research.
MKR 7000 Module 1 rubric: what earns full marks
Each MKR-7000 written assignment is marked against a rubric on a hundred-point scale. On the memo assignment, graders check that the managerial decision and the information need are kept apart, that each objective could be met with data a grocer could collect, and that the case for spending on research is argued with numbers. A worked value-of-information calculation strengthens the case. Professional format, concise writing and APA citations are expected, since the assignments emulate professional documents. Vague objectives, such as learning about customers, or research proposed without regard to cost tend to lose points. Decision criteria agreed before data collection also show mentors a professional approach. Professional format counts.
MKR 7000 Module 1 help: mistakes that cost marks
Students often jump straight to designing a survey without stating what decision it serves, which produces data no one uses. Our writers can prepare MKR 7000 assignments as professional memos and proposals for the decision you are studying. Start by writing the decision in one sentence and what would change it. Translate that into a research problem and two or three objectives, each with questions answerable by data. Estimate what a wrong decision would cost and how likely it is, calculate the value of information, and propose research proportionate to that value, with decision criteria agreed in advance. Then share the research questions with the managers who will use the results. Revise for clarity.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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MKR 7000 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MKR 7000 Module 1 sample paper?
The first Marketing Research written assignment appears above as a professional memo framing a composite grocer's research problem and judging its value.
What is the difference between a management decision problem and a research problem?
The decision problem is what managers must decide; the research problem is the information needed to decide it well.
How is the value of perfect information calculated?
Subtract the expected value of the best decision without information from the expected value if managers always knew the outcome before deciding.
When is marketing research not worth doing?
When the decision is small or reversible, already made, or so urgent that delay would cost more than the information is worth.
What textbook does MKR-7000 use?
Babin's Essentials of Marketing Research, seventh edition, from Cengage.