Abstract:
This exploratory study employed mainly quantitative and some elements of
qualitative methods to analyse interview data emerged from both informal
interviews and questionnaire on 280 salon operators. This study focused on the
educational background of the owners of smaller businesses as a factor related
to the engagement in the marketing research within hair salon business in Dr.
R.S Mompati district in the North-West Province of South Africa. The findings
revealed that even though majority of the operators did not engage in marketing
research, those who collected information on certain marketing research
activities may have been influenced by their educational background. Thus it is
postulated that the higher the educational background, the more likely it is that
hair salons conduct marketing research. The author discusses the implication of
the findings for smaller businesses to engage in marketing research, the value of
the study, recommendation for further research and limitations of the study.
