Question: For this assignment, you will identify an issue or a company to research. This can be an issue relating to a product (such as Starbucks Blonde Roast), brand awareness (consumer brand perception of Target versus Wal-Mart), or anything relating to marketing research from a business perspective. Carefully review the Defining the Research Problem (See The Research Process Tripod) to understand how to approach this assignment and to help you with the process of identifying a valid company or issue and related research problem.
Clearly state the company or issue of focus and the research problem to be studied in 300-500 words. You need to be specific here, and clearly identify one specific problems that should be researched, posing the specific problem as a question. (For example, does Starbucks Blonde Roast increase the consumer base for the company? Or how do customers compare Target and Wal-Mart in terms of product quality in the Lynchburg, Virginia area? What causes diners to pick McDonalds over Burger King for lunch? Or, as a final example: is the price of V8 V-Fusion a major factor in purchase decision for a consumer?). You need to state what the problem is, why studying this problem is important, and what the variables are (price, brand awareness, location, and age are examples of variables).
Submit a brief literature review of 300-500 words discussing the current research being conducted and published on the product or issue, noting if there is reference to theory in the study as a background to support your problem. Please incorporate at least 4 resources (peer-reviewed journal articles, relevant online research for valid sources, or online company information) specifically within your literature review section with APA-formatted in-text citations. It is recommended that the NU Library resources be utilized to find scholarly research on your topic.
The entire assignment must be in current APA format and include a title page, appropriate section headings (introduction, research problem, and literature review), and reference page.