Business Research Methodology

This Professional Assignment (PA1) requires a minimum of three (3) pages (excluding tables, graphs, appendices, title, and reference pages) APA formatted Word Document in response to the following questions. Your answers should be clear, well-organized, and specific. Provide a concise, cogent argument and include details to support your response.

Please review the following case and then provide detailed answers to the listed questions:

Manager Andersen, concerned about her current customer base and he started to think of factors that might affect the attractiveness of an auditing firm. Of course, the provided service quality and the fees charged by the auditor seem two important factors. Next, she decides that reputation of the auditing firm also needs to be included in the framework as an independent variable. As illustrated by the dramatic effects of recent auditing scandals, reputation seems especially important for large auditors (i.e., auditing firms that are large in size). Finally, manager Andersen believes that also the proximity of the auditing firm to the customer is another variable to be included as an independent variable. Proximity very likely affects the possibility for the client to personally meet with the auditors on a regular basis and she knows from her own contact with customers that they perceive personal interactions as quite important. Please provide your detail explanations to the following questions: 

1.  Identify the problem.

2.  Create research questions.

3.  Identify the dependent, independent, moderating, and mediating variables.

4.  Sketch a diagram representing the theoretical model.

5.  Develop a minimum of four (4) testable hypotheses.