ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with some basic issues of important aspect of research relevance. Where research does not simply have an alibi function but is undertaken with the interest of better understanding business processes and consumer behaviour, research results have the power to create awareness and change behaviour internally as well as externally. Practical research takes place somewhere between scientific requirements, practical constraints and the necessity to make the results comprehensible for recipients who are usually not familiar with the methodology and methods of empirical research. There are many ways to consciously or subconsciously bias research results and turn facts into artefacts. While many quality studies are internal and not supposed to be published beyond a small community, the situation is different when consumer organizations do comparative testing of service performance. Research of established consumer organizations can be extremely effective and has a strong impact on consumer behaviour as well as product development.
