Here’s a structured approach to formulating research goals and designing a study on "The Criticality of Business Knowledge & Strategic Thinking of Managers."

1. Research Goals

Your study should aim to explore the relationship between business knowledge, strategic thinking, and managerial effectiveness. Possible research goals include:

Assessing Impact:

Evaluate how business knowledge and strategic thinking contribute to managerial decision-making and organizational performance.

Identify industries where these skills are most critical for competitive advantage.

Understanding Skill Development:

Analyze how managers acquire business knowledge and strategic thinking skills (education, experience, executive training).

Investigate the role of continuous learning in maintaining effective decision-making.

Measuring Effectiveness:

Develop a framework to measure strategic thinking and business knowledge among managers.

Assess correlations between these competencies and key performance indicators (KPIs) such as revenue growth, innovation, and crisis management.

Exploring Challenges & Gaps:

Identify barriers that hinder managers from developing business acumen and strategic foresight.

Examine differences in strategic thinking across various organizational levels (e.g., middle management vs. C-suite executives).

2. Research Design

A. Research Methodology

A mixed-methods approach (quantitative + qualitative) can provide a comprehensive understanding.

Quantitative:

Conduct surveys with managers across industries to assess their level of business knowledge and strategic thinking.

Use statistical analysis to identify trends, correlations, and causations between these skills and business success.

Qualitative:

In-depth interviews with senior executives to gain insights into real-world decision-making.

Case studies of companies that have successfully leveraged managerial strategic thinking for growth.

B. Data Collection Methods

Surveys:

Structured questionnaire with Likert-scale ratings for self-assessment of business knowledge and strategic thinking.

Demographic segmentation by industry, experience level, and organizational size.

Interviews & Focus Groups:

Select industry leaders, business consultants, and academic experts.

Explore qualitative insights on how strategic thinking influences leadership decisions.

Case Studies:

Analyze companies known for strategic excellence (e.g., Apple, Tesla, Amazon).

Compare cases of successful and failed strategies.

Performance Metrics Analysis:

Use financial and operational data to examine how managerial decisions impact company performance.

Compare strategic decision-making outcomes before and after key managerial changes.

C. Hypotheses (if applicable)

H1: Managers with strong business knowledge make more effective strategic decisions.

H2: Strategic thinking positively correlates with organizational performance.

H3: Experience and industry exposure enhance a manager’s ability to think strategically.

H4: Companies that invest in managerial training have higher long-term success rates.

D. Data Analysis

Quantitative: Regression analysis, correlation studies, and factor analysis.

Qualitative: Thematic coding of interviews, SWOT analysis of case studies.

Comparative Analysis: Benchmarking companies with strong vs. weak strategic leadership.

3. Expected Contributions

Provide empirical evidence on why business knowledge and strategic thinking are critical.

Offer recommendations for leadership development programs.

Help organizations refine hiring and training strategies for managerial roles.

Would you like me to refine any part of this research framework further?

you are welcome to seek more help once you finalize the Constructs and research design