MK4D02 - Research Insights and Strategy 01 Sep 2024 - 31 Aug 2027 | Version 0

Associated Module Information

Module Code: MK4D02
Module Title: Research Insights and Strategy
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Fashion, Marketing and Photography
Faculty Sub Group: Marketing
Module Leader: Jackie Harris
Module Team: Francesca Carpanini, Jonathan Deacon, Alexandra Hollyman, Sophia Christidi
First Intended Intake: SEP 2024 Final Year of Intake: 2029
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 40 Credit Level: 7
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100075 - marketing
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 0
Valid From 01 Sep 2024
Valid To 31 Aug 2027

Module Aims

This module enables learners to apply robust academic and practitioner-led research to inform and enhance contemporary strategic and digital marketing decision-making.. To do so, the module aims to:

Develop a critical understanding of research theory and practice within strategic and digital marketing contexts.

Equip learners with the skills to define and deliver customer and organisational value through the use of market research (MR), marketing information systems (MIS), market intelligence, and cross-disciplinary research approaches.

Enable learners to critically evaluate a range of research methodologies and select those most appropriate to the research objectives and business context.

Build the practical capabilities required to plan, manage, and produce a well-executed research project.

Deepen learners’ critical understanding of strategic marketing models and approaches relevant to data-driven and insight-led decision-making.

Meet the research and professional skill requirements of relevant industry bodies (e.g., IDM, DMA, CIPR, PRCA).

Content Summary

Strategic and Market-Led Insight Development

·          Market-led strategic change and organisational learning

·          Developing market sensing capabilities

·          Strategic models and frameworks for digital and strategic marketing

·          Sources of market knowledge: evaluating and synthesising academic and practitioner literature

·          Reviewing and writing critically using secondary research

·          Interpreting market information for decision-making

Research Opportunity Identification

·          Identifying gaps in knowledge to inform research aims and objectives

·          Scoping and justifying empirical research opportunities aligned to business needs

·          Understanding the role of research in strategic decision-making

Research Theory and Methodology

·          Research philosophies and paradigms

·          Overview of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches

·          Selection and justification of research methodologies

·          Designing effective research for applied marketing contexts

Ethical and Practical Considerations

·          Ethical research practices, including GDPR and institutional policies

·          Informed consent and data protection

·          Data management: collection, storage, and disposal

Data Collection and Analysis

·          Methods of data collection and generation

·          Data analysis techniques and tools (basic overview)

·          Interpreting findings to generate meaningful insights

Communicating Research and Strategic Insights

·          Presenting research findings effectively for strategic and business audiences

·          Translating insights into strategic value propositions or marketing strategies

·          Developing the case for primary research in strategic decision making.

Personal and Professional Development

·          Engagement with professional body standards (e.g., IDM, DMA, CIPR, PRCA)

·          Signposting to relevant online resources, events, and networking opportunities within the university and wider professional community

·          Developing research and communication skills for professional accreditation and practice

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lecture 20
Tutorials 4
Practical Classes and Workshops 36
Independent Study 200
Directed Study (including online independent learning) 140
Total Hours Selected 400

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Critically evaluate and synthesise relevant academic literature and credible secondary sources to generate insights into a complex issue in strategic and digital marketing and use these insights to develop and present a coherent strategic response, such as a value proposition or positioning strategy.
LO2 Develop and justify the case for conducting primary empirical research to inform strategic decision-making

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Synchronous Onsite Oral Assessment Presentation (Synchronous Onsite) 1 A presentation of secondary research insights and value proposition 15 N/A 50 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Report 1 A business case for an identified primary research project 0 2000 50 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Presentation (Synchronous Onsite) 1
Report 1

Reading List

Clegg, F. (1982). Simple statistics: A course book for the social sciences. Cambridge University Press.

Clow, K.E. and James, K.E. (2014). Essentials of marketing research: Putting research into practice. Sage. 
Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2013). Business research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Palgrave Macmillan. 
Creswell, John W. (2013). Research Design, Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods approaches, Sage 

Harding, J. (2013). Qualitative data analysis from start to finish. Sage. 
Hemann, C. and Burbary, K. (2017). Digital marketing analytics: Making sense of consumer data in a digital world. Pearson Education.

Kolb, B., (2018). Marketing Research: A Concise Introduction. SAGE. 
Sage: Little Quick Fix series (e.g., Gather your data online; get your data from social media; Use your interview data; understand probability; present your research; statistical significance; do your interviews; see numbers in data) 

Entrepreneurship - Creativity and Innovative Business Models, Edited by Thierry Burger-Helmchen, ISBN 978-953-51-0069-0, 202 pages, Publisher: InTech, Chapters published February 29, 2012 under CC BY 3.0 license DOI: 10.5772/2650 
http://www.intechopen.com/books/entrepreneurship-creativity-and-innovativebusiness-models 
Bjerke, B, (2013) About Entrepreneurship 
Bjerke, B and Hultman, C (2002), Entrepreneurial Marketing 
Chaffey, D (2015), Digital Business and E-Commerce Management, Strategy, Implementation and Practice, 6th Edition 
Dahl, S, (2015) Social Media Marketing Theories and Applications. 
Greenberg, E and Kates, A (2014) Strategic Digital Marketing, e-book 
Osterwalder, A & Pigneur, Y (2010) Business Model Generation 
Piercy, N (2017) Market-Led Strategic Change,) 4th Edition 
Sarasvathy, S (2008) Effectuation – Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise. 
Sethna, Z, Jones, R, Harrigan, P (Eds), (2013), Entrepreneurial Marketing Global Perspectives A comprehensive portfolio of sites pertinent to the course will be co-developed throughout the module 

Journals: 
Journal of the IDM, published by Palgrave Macmillan 
Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship (JRME) 
European Journal of Marketing 
Journal of Strategic Marketing 
Journal of Services Marketing 
Marketing Intelligence & Planning 
European Journal of Innovation Management 
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 
Information and Knowledge Management 
Journal of Knowledge Management