60 Sample IA research questions
To what extent does Polestar’s sustainability strategy influence its long-term commercial viabilit60+ Sample IA research questions
Formulating an appropriate research question for the Internal Assessment
Getting the research question (RQ) is vital to getting a good grade based on the assessment criteria. Students need to choose a real world and contemporary issue (phrased as a probing question) that:
- engages their interest
- is realistic in terms of access to relevant supporting document /resources
- is well focused
- meets the criteria for IB assessment
- The research question should enable students to show evidence of critical and reflective thinking.
The research project must not be a descriptive piece of work.
Also, note that suitable research questions from a year or two ago may not necessarily be the case for this year. It is important to remember the requirement to focus on a contemporary issue or problem (the 3-year rule).
Furthermore, the RQs below do not necessarily provide the context for the real-world issue or problem being investigated but these must be included in the introduction section of the business research project.
- To what extent has Bloxham Florists' creative use of social media marketing been a financial success?
- How effective has Cathay Pacific adjusted its promotional strategy to attract a wider target market in Hong Kong’s commercial aviation industry in the post-COVID pandemic era?
- Will Firery Pots' "Give Back to Dulwich" initiative enable the business to improve its financial success as part of the social enterprise’s five-year plan?
- Given the intensity of growing competition, how effective does Muller Bookstores differentiate itself from other bookstores in Dusseldorf?
- To what extent has Pointwell Ltd.'s use of non-financial motivation reduced its labour turnover rate?
- How effective has The Studio adjusted its promotional strategy to attract a wider target market in Sai Kung, Hong Kong?
- How effective has Tim Horton’s promotional strategy to endorse (collaborate) with Justin Bieber been at attracting a wider target market in North America?
- How might creativity help Warner Bros. Discovery to increase its market share in the streaming market in the United States?
- How effective have Xiaomi’s growth strategies been in enhancing the company’s market position in Taiwan?
- To what extent has the introduction of Threads benefited Meta's financial performance?
- To what extent has Pret A Manger’s subscription model in the UK increased the company's profitability?
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- How can British Airways best resolve the industrial dispute with its cabin crew?
- To what extent has the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data breach impacted the market value of Facebook?
- How effective is Greenpeace’s promotional strategy in Poland?
- How can HSBC ensure an ethical introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into their customer acquisition services?
- How ethical has McDonald’s been in competing for employees in Oregon during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- To what extent has Starbucks committed to meeting its 99% ethical coffee standards and practices?
- Is TOMS Shoes' "One-for-One Model" considered to be a commercial approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) or a genuine altruistic approach to CSR?
- How competitive is the zero-pricing strategy of ‘The Standard' (newspaper)?
- To what extent has Uber Eats violated its ethical code of practice by exploiting gig workers in the UK?
- To what extent will Apple’s 2030 agenda contribute to improving its global ecological impact?
- To what extent have Coca-Cola's “World Without Waste” initiatives improved the company's financial performance?
- Given that Coca-Cola has been accused of being the world's “worst plastic polluter”, to what extent does its “World Without Waste” sustainable packaging strategy disprove this claim?
- How effective has Natural Elements Skincare’s internal growth strategy been in strengthening customer loyalty in the UK?
- To what extent has Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper’s pricing methods enabled it to stay competitive in Japan’s growing online grocery market?
- How likely will OLA’s investment in environmentally-friendly e-scooters improve its market share in Mumbai, India?
- To what extent are the operations of Costa Coffee ecologically and economically sustainable?
- To what extent can Deliveroo (UK) rely on its current growth strategies to reverse its operating losses caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic?
- To what extent is Zara’s “Join Life” initiative able to tackle the problems it faces in the ‘fast fashion’ industry?
- To what extent has H&M’s sustainability policies impacted its financial performance in the post-COVID era?
- To what degree does the role of data play in Coca-Cola remaining relevant and staying connected to its consumers in the age of digital transformation in the US market?
- To what extent is IKEA’s CSR measures making its supply chain more sustainable?
- How probable will IKEA's Buy Back programme (the decision to purchase unwanted furniture at up to half the original purchase price) impact the company's profitability?
- To what extent has H&M's sustainability strategies had a positive impact on its sales revenue in Portugal?
- To what extent does Nike’s "Move to Zero" campaign make it a more sustainable organization?
- To what extent does Polestar’s sustainability strategy influence its long-term commercial viability?
- To what extent have Shein’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices affected its market growth?
- How effective has TOMS Shoes (US) operations as a B-Corp been in sustaining its shareholder value?
- To what extent is Tesla’s sourcing of lithium and cobalt sustainable (economically and ecologically) and socially responsible?
- To what extent is Zara’s launch of "Zara Pre-Owned" a successful growth strategy?
- To what extent has Aldi’s low price strategy allowed it to gain market share in the UK?
- To what extent will Amazon’s strategy of vertical integration of logistic services contribute towards it profitability?
- How effective has British American Tobacco’s investment in Organigram Inc. been in improving its financial performance?
- To what extent will the implementation of digitization strategies by Carrefour improve its overall profitability?
- How likely will Citibank's decision to enable its employees to continue working from home (WFH), despite the recent lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, improve labour productivity?
- How likely is the Coca-Cola Company able to adapt to the change in consumer tastes for healthier drinks to reverse its decline in profits?
- How far is Goldman Sachs's change in vacation policy useful to reduce the company's labour turnover rate?
- How likely is Google Bard to achieve market leadership in the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot industry in the USA?
- How likely will H&M’s change in distribution strategy improve its profitability?
- How significant will KPMG’s decision to abolish homeworking following the removal of COVID-19 restrictions impact its labour productivity?
- How probable will LEGO's new supply chain strategy (production planning strategy) lead to an increase in its market share in Asia?
- How effective has lovenSkate's external growth strategy impacted the social enterprise's financial performance?
- To what extent will Netflix’s decision to change its subscription pricing enable the company to increase its profits?
- How likely will Netflix’s limit on password sharing increase the number of subscriptions?
- To what extent will Netflix’s strategy of introducing games on its streaming platform lead to an increase the company’s overall profitability?
- How likely will Netflix’s change in its product portfolio strategy (its gaming platform) be likely to increase the company’s profitability?
- To what extent can changing its channels of distribution (shifting away from using wholesalers and independent retail chains) improve Nike's profitability?
- How likely is it that Peloton’s decision to stop in-house production (of exercise bikes) in favour of outsourcing will be effective in solving the company's cash flow issues?
- How effective has Pho’s external growth strategy through franchising been in improving the company's financial performance in the UK?
- To what extent have Ralph Lauren Corporation’s (RLC) product differentiation strategies helped the company’s evolution in the fashion industry”
- To what extent has Samsung's market penetration strategy been effective in maintaining its position in the smartphone market?
- To what extent has the lack of HGV vehicle drivers in the UK affected supply chain management at Tesco?
- To what extent has Tesla's change in pricing method enabled it remain competitive in China's EV market?
- To what extent has Tesla’s implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) automation technology impacted its profitability?
- Should Waitrose (supermarkets) invest in up-selling and cross-selling algorithms to make online shopping more personalized for customers?
- To what extent will Waitrose reducing prices of its own-branded products maintain the supermarket chain's market share in a cost of living crisis?
Teachers can also access this IB Padlet for more examples of research questions for the Internal Assessment, by clicking on the Teacher only box below.
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