CHALLENGES IN CONDUCTING COMMERCIAL RESEARCH AND THEIR SOLUTIONS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Most literature on research methodology implicitly assumes that research is conducted by a single individual, with limited attention paid to the realities of collaborative, large scale research. Even when methodological application is discussed, it is often treated in an abstract manner, insufficiently grounded in the complex conditions encountered at the field level. This gap becomes especially pronounced in a country like India,which is vast geographically and heterogeneous linguistically, culturally, and socially, with 22 official languages and significant variations in religion,customs,and socio-economic contexts.Conducting pan-national studies in such an environment presents challenges that cannot be fully anticipated without direct field engagement, including issues of coordination, standardisation, interpretation, and local adaptation.These ground-level complexities contribute to a persistent disconnect between academic research and commercial managerial research. Academic studies tend to prioritise methodological rigour, theoretical consistency, and controlled research designs, while commercial research emphasises scalability, speed, and operational feasibility. However, neither domain sufficiently documents the practical challenges involved in implementing research methodologies across diverse and decentralised settings. As a result, there exists a notable gap in meta-literature that critically examines the process of research execution itself. This paper seeks to address one such underexplored dimension that is particularly relevant to commercial research - the use of research teams. Unlike individual academic inquiry, commercial research frequently relies on multi layered teams operating across regions. The paper examines the implications of team-based research, the inherent difficulties it introduces, and the practical solutions adopted in real-world settings, thereby contributing to a more grounded and practice-based understanding of research methodology.