The Home Depot and Its Research

Organizations conduct research for the creation of new knowledge. They intend to utilize this knowledge to address various problematic issues in an optimal manner. As complex as they may be, organizations utilize various research methods, which include qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods to achieve their intended results. This paper analyzes the Home Depot Company and its use of research to address potential current or future problems. It discusses the company’s effectiveness in the utility of research studies for problem solving. In addition, the paper provides ways through which the company could utilize both primary and secondary research. Finally, it gives recommendations on how the company could expand its research in the future. Although the company conducts research studies, it could do more to expand its research efforts and reap more benefits.

Company Overview

            The Home Depot Company specializes in the retail of building materials and garden products. In addition, it provides services in home improvement including lawn maintenance (“Company Profile: The Home Depot, Inc.”, 2018). The company undertakes its business across the United States serving different market segments. Despite being the second largest retailer in its industry, the company faces certain issues that could be solved through the conduction of a research study. One of the challenges facing the company involves assortment difficulties. Home Depot could utilize a research study in assortment to micro-segment clients, in order to enhance assortment. In addition, it faces challenges in the maintenance of optimal stock levels in certain stores. The conduction of a research study could aid the organization to determine optimal stock levels in each of its stores. This aids in the avoidance of over and under stocking of its products. Moreover, the company may face a future problem in the identification of the consumer’s purchase patterns. The conduction of a research study may aid in the improvement of the company’s forecasting efforts to identify future consumer preferences and compositions.  

Indicators of the Effectiveness of Research Studies in the Company

            One of the indicators of the effective use of research studies in Home Depot is the high Net Promoter Scores (NPS) (”Company Profile: The Home Depot, Inc.”, 2011). This means that the customer satisfaction scores have improved to the level that the customers could recommend the company’s products to other potential customers. Essentially, the company has undertaken research studies to identify its frequent or loyal customers and undertaken measures on its products and services to satisfy their needs. In addition, the company has increased the stock levels of environmentally friendly products given an increase in demand for such commodities. Through effective research efforts, the company has realized the increasing nature of consumers that are more aware of the need to preserve the environment for sustainable development. However, the company has not effectively utilized research for product differentiation purposes to have a competitive edge (”Company Profile: The Home Depot, Inc.”, 2016). Instead, it has given in to the pressure of market saturation that has led to the closure of some of its stores. This limits its growth opportunities that could be specifically pointed out through a research study.

Use of Secondary and Primary Research

            The company could use already existing data and information from various sources to identify current problems and areas of potential growth in its business (Church, 2002). For instance, the press undertakes various researches on certain business facets that may affect Home Depot. The press may conduct an opinion poll on the customer satisfaction levels on lawn maintenance services based on a variety of companies. Home Depot could rely on this data to collect certain business intelligence from its competitors. The company’s utility of this intelligence in an ethical manner may be beneficial (Cowton, 1998). It could undertake certain measures that ensure the achievement of high consumer satisfaction levels.

            On the other hand, the company could utilize primary research to collect first hand data regarding various aspects of its products, target market, competition, and other facets (Driscoll, 2011). For instance, it may need to understand the perception of the consumers concerning a given qualitative feature of one of its products. Such a feature could be its packaging design of the particular product. Thus, the company may formulate research questions and direct them to the consumers in the form of a questionnaire. The consumer’s feedback may give data and intelligence on an area that has not been previously explored.

Recommendation: Future Expansion of Research

            In order to expand its research, the company needs to periodically question the effectiveness of its leadership, vision, mission, processes, consumer satisfaction efforts, employee satisfaction efforts, industry trends, and other factors. This would aid in the advancement of research given that the research process begins with the identification of potential problems that emerge from these factors. These problems further necessitate the determination, analysis, and review of specific problem solving methods that would lead to viable conclusions. Moreover, the company’s focus on the ‘people’ aspect would expand its research efforts. The ‘people’ include its customers, suppliers, employees, investors, and other individuals that are either directly to indirectly involved in the business of the company. The organization is a man-made entity and the study of human behavior in Home Depot could lead to the realization of valuable insights.

References

Church, R. (2002). The Effective Use of Secondary Data. Learning And Motivation, 33(1), 32-45. doi: 10.1006/lmot.2001.1098

Company Profile: The Home Depot, Inc. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.datamonitor.com

Company Profile: The Home Depot, Inc. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.marketline.com

Company Profile: The Home Depot, Inc. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.marketline.com

Cowton, C. (1998). The Use of Secondary Data in Business Ethics Research. Journal Of Business Ethics, 17, 423-434.

Driscoll, D. (2011). Introduction to Primary Research: Observations, Surveys, and Interviews, 2, 153-174.