What are some of the most impactful and influential corporate studies of all time, and what were the research methods that underpinned them? It’s a question that can help to provide a perspective on the wide range of options in use today, from the classic survey through to big data analysis, econometric indexing, and much more.
We look at some of the most influential corporate studies and the research methods that underpin them, from the classic survey through to big data analysis, to see what the best options for today’s businesses are.
The classic survey
Published in January 1998, McKinsey’s The War for Talent changed the way businesses think about the indian mobile number list workforce. A single sentence from the report sums up its core insight: “Companies are about to be engaged in a war for senior executive talent that will remain a defining characteristic of their competitive landscape for decades to come.” Prior to this, few reports had given much consideration to rising competition for talent but, since its publication, few have been able to ignore the topic.
While much of this study’s impact arises from the authors’ sharp analysis and explanatory powers, in-depth research underpins the findings. The authors draw on a mix of survey results and interviews with thousands of executives across 77 companies. These include respondents from the C-suite and their direct reports (359 respondents), senior executives (n=5,679), HR leaders (n=72), and interviews with a dozen independent experts. (As an aside, the researchers asked the companies to categorise the larger pool of executives into high, average or low performers – presumably on the understanding that this information didn’t get back to the executives themselves!) Each of these segmented groups was individually surveyed and analysed.
Although this led to a more complex structure than for most polls, this survey + interviews combination has dominated report study design in the past quarter-century. From Edelman’s Trust Barometer to Deloitte’s Women @ Work study (some recent examples from FT Longitude here), the survey has become a feature of corporate thought leadership. But, of course, it’s not the only research method in use, as we’ll discover below.