What is the role of a hypothesis in business research?

The role of a hypothesis in business research is primarily to predict the relationship between variables to be tested. A hypothesis serves as a tentative explanation or a specific, testable prediction about how two or more variables are connected. It guides the direction of the research by providing a framework for understanding the possible outcomes of the study.

When researchers formulate a hypothesis, they establish what they expect to observe based on theoretical knowledge or previous findings. This predicted relationship can later be tested through data collection and analysis, allowing researchers to confirm or refute their initial assumptions. By doing so, hypotheses help to clarify the focus of the research and provide a basis for statistical testing, making them essential to the scientific method in business research.

The other options present roles that do not accurately cover the function of a hypothesis. Summarizing research findings pertains to the conclusion stage of a study, collecting data is part of the operational aspect of research rather than the formulation of hypotheses, and determining sample size is also a technical consideration made during the research design phase, not directly tied to the hypothesis itself.