The research, from the report The state of modern research 2026, said that 94% of respondents felt their organisation’s leadership believes research is important, but only 27% said research was referenced in almost every major decision the organisation took.

In addition, the study said that 93% of research professionals are using AI, but fewer than half ( 48%) actively used an insights repository to centralise their findings, and only 35% said they ran a primarily ‘always-on’ research function.

The findings are based on a survey carried out in April 2026 of 309 research professionals, leaders and research consumers.

Prayag Narula, chief executive and co-founder at HeyMarvin, said: “Companies spend billions trying to understand customer needs, yet they’re still making their most important product and business decisions without the right insights.”