Research Report: Impact of Digital Tech on Harrods Business Activities

This research report investigates the impact of digital technologies on the business activities of Harrods Limited. The introduction highlights the increasing importance of digital advancements in business and the need for companies to adapt. The research aims to analyze this impact, with objectives including studying the significance of digital technologies, assessing their application within Harrods, and evaluating their influence on business operations. The literature review emphasizes the critical role of digital technology in modern businesses, citing sources that discuss its impact across various sectors, including the hospitality industry. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, using primary data collection through questionnaires administered to Harrods managers and secondary data from academic sources. The methodology section details the research design, data collection methods, and analytical tools used, including thematic analysis. The report presents and interprets the collected data, focusing on the use of digital technologies and manager satisfaction. The findings reveal that while some managers believe Harrods is using digital technologies, others disagree. The level of satisfaction with the implemented technologies varies. The report concludes with a discussion of the research outcomes and recommendations for future improvements.

RESEARCH
PROJECT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
RESEARCH TITLE: ......................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
P1 Research Proposal covering research questions, hypothesis and literature review...........1
Research Aim:........................................................................................................................1
Research Objectives:..............................................................................................................1
Rationale of the Research:......................................................................................................2
Literature Review...................................................................................................................2
Research Questions................................................................................................................3
P2 Research Methods.............................................................................................................3
M1 Research methods and their justifications........................................................................4
D1 Critical evaluation on research methods and analysis......................................................4
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
P3) Primary and secondary research for project.....................................................................5
P4) Analytical tools to analyse collected data........................................................................5
Data Interpretation:.................................................................................................................6
M2) Merits and limitations on data collection and analysis...................................................7
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................7
P5) Discussion on research outcomes....................................................................................7
M3) Communication on link between research outcomes and objectives of Harrods...........8
D2) Critical evaluation on outcomes and recommendations..................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
LO 4.................................................................................................................................................8
P6) Effectiveness of research methods applied for business objectives.................................8
P7) Alternate research methodologies in view of research outcomes....................................8
M4) Critical reflection on result and future considerations....................................................9
D3) Reflection and recommended actions for future improvements.....................................9
CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCE.................................................................................................................................11

RESEARCH TITLE:
"To analyse the impact of digital technologies on business activities: A case study on Harrods
Limited".
INTRODUCTION
In the present era of the digital advancements, technologies plays a crucial role in the
development of businesses (Radojevic, Stanisic, and Stanic, 2015). Their assistance in the
organisational context is larger as they impacts on various factors that may retard the
effectiveness. Various activities are getting simpler with the use of digital technologies. It further
assist in reducing the time and manpower associated with these operations. With the help of
cloud technologies companies can save their large sized files without any space. Also, the
improvised communication tools such as social media sites, emails and other mobile
technologies increased the connectivity of these organisations in increasing their roots to
different places and customers. In addition to this, the evolution of the "internet of things" is
regarded as the most important factor to be consider in regards with the businesses. The present
report is based on the understanding of the impact of digital technologies on the business
activities of the Harrods Ltd.. Being a small medium entity, it is necessary for the organisation
to mange the business activities effectively so that it can grow its business roots. In this research,
the viewpoints of the mangers of Harrods will be analysed and discussed.
LO 1
P1 Research Proposal covering research questions, hypothesis and literature review.
The present research is based on gaining the understanding of the influence put on to the
businesses by making use of the digital technologies. With regards to this, the aims and
objectives of the undertaking can be understood as:
Research Aim:
"To analyse the impact of digital technologies on the business activities of Marks and Spencer."
Research Objectives:
In order to achieve the above mentioned research aim, the objectives settled are:
 To study the significance of digital technologies.
 To assess different digital technologies that can be used by the Harrods Ltd. to improve
its activities.
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 To analyse the impact of digital technologies on the business activities of Harrods Ltd.
Rationale of the Research:
In order to sustain in the present technological era, it is essential to improve the
effectiveness of the business. There exist different digital technologies that can bring
effectiveness in the work. It has been observed that being a small business entity, Harrods lacks
in the effective use of the digital technologies (Lee, 2016). Thus, this research will help in
stating the importance and impacts of these advancements on the business activities. From this,
the cited firm can understand the benefits of implementing these technologies in the
organisations.
Literature Review
According to Abidin, Rusli and Khan, (2016) it is noted that digital technology is the
most important element of the economy at the present date without the use of computer and
internet no industry will be able to survive and grow. The use of digital technologies is very vital
and the economy is growing in the direction where during the coming years there will only be
industries who are using digital technologies. Creswell and Poth, (2017) also stated that digital
technology is very much significant in each and every field of all the industries not only limited
to production or marketing department. Digital reforms in many industries are taking place in
21st century which was started in 20th century. According to Boella and Goss-Turner, (2013) it is
clear that without the use of digital technology the company will not be able to start or carry the
business in proper way. Digital technology is very useful in the hospitality industry as well from
the customer booking the tickets online to their check in and check out time all the things are
regulated by the technology. The use of computers, internet, and information technology are of
the most vital to the company. According to Lee, (2016) hospitality industry include many
sectors like that of hotel, restaurants, travel and tourism industry as well and all of them are
growing.
As per Radojevic, Stanisic and Stanic, (2015) there are many digital technologies which
are used by Harrods Ltd to improve the activities which they are providing to the customers.
Like the facility of online ticket booking, online hotel booking, getting the discounts as and when
required and then the check in and check out from the hotel. They all related to digital
technology and are now into more use than before. As Kandampully, Zhang and Bilgihan, (2015)
said that service quality and customer satisfaction could singly be achieved through the
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contemporary methods conventional approaches are not been accommodating in regulating the
enterprise plan. The business of Harrods are mostly affected by digital technology and the
working are affected by it as per the Wood, (2017). All the technological advancements are
impacting the working, functions and profits of the hospitality industry. Today many types of
website are there which are enabling the hospitality industry to do better and this help the
industry to provide round the clock services to the customers. As per Thakran and Verma,
(2013) customer satisfaction are also related to the use of digital technology as if there are better
means of technological advancement in this field then the customers will be satisfied. The digital
technology also help the industry to provide quality of services to the customer. If the service
quality of the company is very good then this will increase the customer base and loyalty. Thus
the industry is growing faster and increasing the use of digital technology which is helping the
world to stay connected according to Šerić, Gil-Saura and Ruiz-Molina, (2014). Digital
technology is also improving the reservation system of industry and customer can easily book
their ticket and can come to know about the hotel in advance only.
Research Questions
While conducting the present research on the impact of digital technologies on business
activities of Marks and Spencer, the following questions will be attained:
1. What is the importance of digital technologies for small business entities?
2. How implementation of digital technologies will help in improving the business
performance?
3. What are the role splayed by digital advancements in the growth and development of
companies?]
P2 Research Methods
In order to analyse the impact of digital technologies on the small business activities,
different methods are used such as primary and secondary, qualitative and quantitative, etc. In
this regard the associated ones with the research are explained further:
Primary Data collection: The data from the primary resources is gathered with the person who
are directly connected to the subject of research topic. There are different tools that can be used
by the researcher for the data collection such as interviews, questionnaires or conducting
surveys, feedback, door to door question asking, etc. There are further two research approaches
namely qualitative and quantitative which are used to assess the views of respondents.
3

Secondary data collection: With the help of this method, the impact of digital technologies on
the business activities will be analysed using different sources such as books, journals, articles,
etc. In addition to this, views of different authors on the same or relevant research topic will also
be analysed to achieve the aim of present undertaking.
M1 Research methods and their justifications.
 Research Approach: There are two approaches that can be used by a researcher to
conduct the research, they are inductive and deductive. For the present undertaking, the
data will be collected through survey and hence, inductive approach will be used.
 Research Philosophy: There are mainly two research philosophies that helps in
accomplishing the research, they are positivism ad interprevitism. In order to analyse the
impact of digital technologies on the business activities, the research philosophy selected
is interprevitism.
 Research Design: For the present undertaking, the research design selected is
descriptive. It is because of the fact that both positive and negative aspects of the
implementation of the digital technologies on the business will be analysed.
 Data Collection: It is the process of collecting relevant information associated with the
research topic. For the present research, both primary and secondary sources will be used
to gather the data.
 Data Analysis: In this research methodology stage, the collected data is analysed with
the help of relevant tools. This helps in achieving the actual results of the collected
information. For the present research, thematic analysis will be performed.
 Ethical Considerations: For completing the present research work, all ethical factors
will be considered. These involves gathering right information, present right perceptions
of the mangers, etc.
D1 Critical evaluation on research methods and analysis
As stated by (), primary data collection method helps in obtaining the realistic data. This,
in turn, helps in achieving the aim of the research in an appropriate manner. However, ()
contrasted the statement by saying primary sources of data collection takes more time and also,
they can create some ethical issues which will affect the research work.
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LO 2
P3) Primary and secondary research for project
For the present research, a questionnaire will be developed for that mangers of the
Harrods. Ltd. This survey will have some questions related to the impact of digital technologies
on the business activities of the selected organisation. In addition to this, data will also e
collected from the other researches, books, journals and internet.
P4) Analytical tools to analyse collected data.
Researcher has conducted a questionnaire comprising of lost of questions to be asked
from the 5 managers working in the Harrods Ltd. to gather the data associated with the impact of
digital technologies on the business activities. These questions are as follows:
Name
Age
Designation
Is Harrods Lid. has implemented digital technologies for the business operation?
 Yes
 No
Are you satisfied with the technologies for effective communication with different
stakeholders?
 Highly satisfied
 Satisfied
 Neutral
 Unsatisfied
 Highly Unsatisfied
What are the critical factors on adopting digital technologies?
 Expenses
 Highly advanced skills required in the employees
 Less aware of the recent trends
Which department of the company has implement the most technologies?
5

 Finance department
 Marketing
 Production and operation department
 HR department
Do you believe that addition of digital technologies is effective for the business growth of
Harrods Ltd.?
 Yes
 No
Data Interpretation:
Thematic Analysis
Theme 1: Use of digital technologies in Harrods Limited
Yes 2
No 3
Total number of respondents 5
6

Interpretation: From the questionnaire, it has been observed that out of 5 mangers, 2 had
answered that the company is using the digital technologies in the business activities. On the
other hand, 3 have answered that they are not using digital technologies effectively.
Theme 2: Satisfaction with the implemented digital technologies in the businesses
Highly Satisfied 1
Satisfied 2
Neutral 1
Unsatisfied 1
Highly Unsatisfied 0
Total number of respondents 5
7
Yes No
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
2
3

Interpretation: From the questionnaire that has been conducted ion the managers of Harrods, it
has been observed that out of 5 managers, 2 are satisfied with the existing technologies in the
firm. However, the data for highly satisfies, neutral and unsatisfied is 1.
Theme 3: Critical factors on adopting digital technologies
Expenses 3
Desired skills 1
Unaware of recent technologies 1
Total number of respondents 5
8
1
2
1
1
Highly Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Unsatisfied
Highly Unsatisfied

Interpretation: From the questionnaire that has been conducted on the managers of the
Harrods Ltd., it has been identified that majority of the managers thinks that the expenses is the
biggest hurdle in way of implementing digital technologies in the Harrods. However, managers
who thinks that skills and unawareness of recent technologies is the major factor lacking factors
are 1 each.
Theme 4: Department of the company having most technologies
Finance department 1
Marketing 2
Production and operation department 2
HR department 1
Total number of respondents 5
Interpretation: From the questionnaire that has been conducted on the managers of the Harrods
Ltd., it has been identified that marketing department of the company is using the most
9
Expenses Desired skills Unaware of recent technologies
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
3
1 1
Column B