Parts of A Concept Paper

PARTS OF A CONCEPT PAPER
1. CONCEPT PAPER TITLE/INTRODUCTION

2. NEED FOR THIS STUDY
3. BACKGROUND
4. OBJECTIVES
5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS/ HYPOTHESES
6. METHODOLOGY
7. TIMELINE
8. REFERENCES
1. CONCEPT PAPER TITLE
and INTRODUCTION
• TITLE should be as brief as possible and
to the point such that by a glance one would
know exactly the paper’s intention.
Example:

“Leveraging on Mobile Payment Methods to gain
Competitive Advantage by local based businesses”
• INTRODUCTION
-introduce the concept by giving a brief on how it will
contribute to the organization or company having more
opportunities as a result. Also, state your understanding
of the main objective of the targeted area of
implementation clearly introducing the gap intended to
be addressed. An introduction is like the sitting room of
the concept paper as it determines a lot on the person
proposing the concept. During presentations, this
section also acts as the persona guide to how the rest
of the presentation is preempted.
EXAMPLE:
Introduction
Mobile payment methods have popularity with big businesses operating in
large towns and cities across the world. These payment methods enable the
business customers to access their cash at the point of sale and do not need to
have physical money to complete their transactions. This study will therefore
help in understanding the mobile payment methods preferences for the local
based business and how and why these preferences have failed to prevail. The
research will therefore address that gap that is viewed as the low uptake of
mobile payment methods by the local based businesses which are essentially
operating in remote areas. This concept builds upon the various insights that
have been undertaken by various researchers in the business and information
technology field to bridge the gap of strategic implementation of information
technology systems in business to gain competitive advantage.
2. NEED FOR THIS STUDY
• NEED FOR THIS STUDY
-it should addresses the pertinent societal need. The
need of the study should have a concrete evidence in
the sense that the source of the need must be
documented and verifiable. It is also important to look
at what other scholars have done on the concept
previously, and whether this is enough to answer the
questions intended for the study.
EXAMPLE:
for this Study

Need
It is estimated that more than 5 billion people have access to mobile phone
devices and that out of this figure about a third of the population is based in
local areas. Further, the village-based businesses do not have immediately
access to the physical money banking system as they are located kilometers
away. Porter (2011) notes that in order for businesses to achieve and sustain
superior performance, they must be able to implement systems that are
competitively superior. Budree and Williams (2013, September) and Namada
(2018) established that the areas with large number of low-income earners
experienced low uptake technological advancements and businesses in these
locations are not keen on leveraging on technology. The concept will
therefore be intended to identify the salient factors that local businesses can
apply in leveraging on mobile payment methods to gain competitive
advantage.
3. BACKGROUND
• BACKGROUND
This section indicates that some research has been carried on the
area of interest, however there still exit a gap that needs to filled.
It is important therefore to outline several studies that have been
undertake on the topical area summarizing their conclusive
evidence and relevance to the study area. A more descriptive
background will then be structured from the worldview, regional,
and localized perspective. For a shorter-version concept paper this
may not count however it is important to show that some study
have been done but little research in the area of interest and how
the concept seeks to solve this gap.
EXAMPLE:
Background
Several studies have concluded that mobile payment methods is one of the
major factors put in place by businesses in gaining competitive advantage,
however this has also, not been achieved in remote areas. As a result,
Onyango et al. (2014) in their study on mobile phone technology and the
evident performance of micro and small enterprises, concludes that there is an
impact on the use and implementation of mobile phone technology to achieve
the full business performance. In order, therefore to achieve competitive
advantage, Porter (2011) advises that the strategy implemented should be
geared towards achieving full potential competitively.
EXAMPLE:
Many scholars also agree that there is a significant relationship between mobile payment
methods and gaining competitive advantage to sustain an improved performance. Most
also argue that the mobile payment method of use will be dependent on the location and
nature of need. The handbook by Namada (2018) notes that the concept of organizational
learning must be down-trotted to the local businesses to learn which mobile technology
suits their operations and how this technology can be leveraged to achieve competitive
advantage. The literature and conclusions from the scholars however fail to answer
specific questions that related to leveraging on mobile payment methods to gain
competitive advantage for local based businesses. Most of the studies were focused on
businesses and companies in towns and cities with the area of interest majoring on
performance whether competitively or not. This study will therefore be focused on the
factors of consideration for leveraging on mobile payment methods to gain competitive
advantage by local based businesses.
4.OBJECTIVES
• OBJECTIVES
These are the broad and specific objectives the research
seeks to answer. It should be stated starting with the
words “To” and linked to the general and the specific
area where the study is to be undertaken. Both the
general and the specific objectives must be regularized
to conform with the topic of the concept
EXAMPLE:
Objectives
The research paper seeks to achieve its general objective of leveraging on
mobile payment methods to gain competitive advantage by focusing on the
following specific objectives:
• To determine the influence of perceived risks on the use of mobile
payment methods to gain competitive advantage by local based
businesses.
• To determine the influence of M-Payment characteristics (mobility,
reachability, convenience, and compatibility) on the use of mobile payment
methods to gain competitive advantage by local based businesses.
• To assess the influence of personal innovativeness on use of mobile
payment methods to gain competitive advantage by local based
businesses.
4.RESEARCH QUESTIONS/
HYPOTHESES
• RESEARCH QUESTIONS/
HYPOTHESES
The research can choose to answer either
questions emanating from the research
literature and especially from the research
objectives, or hypothesis scenarios and test at
the end of the research whether they were
accepted or not
EXAMPLE:
Research Questions
1. Does perceived risks influence the use of mobile payment
methods to gain competitive advantage by local based
businesses?
2. Does M-Payment characteristics (mobility, reachability,
convenience, and compatibility) influence the use of
mobile payment methods to gain competitive advantage by
local based businesses?
3. Does personal innovativeness influence the use of mobile
payment methods to gain competitive advantage by local
based businesses?
5.METHODOLOGY
• METHODOLOGY
This is the how of the concept and describes
how the concept will be achieved once it
reaches the research level. It should define the
intention on the design of research to be
conducted, the population targeted, and the
type of data to be collected.
EXAMPLE:
Methodology
The study intends to use cross sectional survey design in determining the leverage
on mobile payment methods to gain competitive advantage by local based
businesses.
The study will sample 478 local based businesses registered in Kenya out of a
population of 4 thousand which are mainly registered and operated in village area
settings.
The study will collect both primary and secondary data, and the quantitative data
generated will be analyzed using descriptive statistics which will include
percentage distribution, mean and the frequency counts. The qualitative data from
the study will undergo transcription and reported in themes and sub-themes. The
relationship between the independent and dependent variables will be explained
through multiple regression.

6.TIMELINE
• TIMELINE
In academic concept papers, this period is usually pre-defined
by the various university standards and one should have a look
at their university standards on the research paper duration.
The timeline must also include how the initial and final phases
of the academic project is to be achieved. This is where the
difference between a research proposal and concept paper
vary, in that the concept paper lists both the research proposal
and research final study timelines while the research proposal
only lists the research study timelines.
EXAMPLE:
Research Timeline
The project is expected to be completed in 17 weeks with the following indicated as the
activities durations for every section of the research project:
7.REFERENCE
• REFERENCE
The reference materials used for the concept paper
must be outline under the reference section following
a standard format that is approved by the university.
Remember there are several formats for referencing
various articles and other academic work and only one
must be used at one particular time for a standard
practice. Example: Using the APA refencing format
EXAMPLE:
References
Porter, M. E. (2011). Competitive advantage of nations: creating and sustaining superior
performance. simon and schuster.
Namada, J. M. (2018). Organizational learning and competitive advantage. In Handbook
of Research on Knowledge Management for Contemporary Business Environments (pp.
86- 104). IGI Global.
Budree, A., & Williams, K. H. (2013, September). Factors influencing the uptake of
mobile banking in developing countries: A case study of M–Pesa in South Africa. In
Proceedings of 22nd Internafional Business Research Conference (pp. 9-10).
Onyango, R. A., Ongus, R. W., Awuor, F. M., & Nyamboga, C. (2014). Impact of adoption
and use of mobile phone technology on the performance of micro and small enterprises
in Kisii Municipality Kenya. World Journal of Computer Application and Technology,
(pp.34- 42)
Santos, A. (2016). Digitalized growth: The impact of technology to business. Retrieved
from http://tehnogrowth.com/impactoftechnologytobusiness
It’s your turn!
CONCEPT PAPER FORMAT:
Paper size: 8.5” x 11”
Spacing: Double-spaced
Font: Times New Roman
Font Size: 12
Margins: 1 inch on all sides
Header: School logo (left side),
your name(right side)
Footer: page number (page___of __)

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PARTS OF A CONCEPT PAPER

1. CONCEPT PAPER TITLE/INTRODUCTION

for this Study

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