Methodological choice and the philosophy of the study. Data collection

Methodological choice and the philosophical assumptions

Performing qualitative studies in management is not a question of method but of methodology, understood as a general approach to the study of research topics (Silverman, 1993). Silverman (2005) defines methods as techniques, which take on a specific meaning, according to the methodology in which they are used. There is no right or wrong method, but the method must be appropriate for the research purposes and the chosen research model (Remenyi, 1998); this means that, in this research, methodological choices should be consequential to the researcher’s philosophical stance and will support the research phenomenon to be investigated. The choice of the philosophy of the research is determined among other factors by: the assumptions of the researcher, precedents set by earlier research, and the selection made in terms of different research methods and the methodology applied (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002).

The research paradigm identifies a framework of assumptions about the nature of the social world (i.e.

ontology), and what we know about the nature of social knowledge (i.e epistemology), and the applied research design and methods for extending knowledge (i.e methodology) ( Khun, 1970; Chua, 1986).

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The mentioned above approaches and worldviews have the impact on the ideas and reflections about ontological, epistemological and methodological standpoints shared by the researches in a particular research community, i.e using in the literature two main philosophical paradigms as positivism and phenomenology ( Saunders et.al, 2000) demonstrates different world outlook that affect the researcher’s understanding about the social world and nature related to the scientific research.

Positivism believes that the nature of social the reality is considered to be objective, i.e the social world exists as an objective reality. Thus, positivistic approach in science assumes that existing independently of human beings an objective reality should be measured by the objective methods within established knowledge based on the observation of this reality (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002).

Phenomenology, in contrast to positivism, assumes that the reality is not objective and external (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002), but socially constructed. The purpose of the phenomenological scientific research is to understand the phenomena’s inter-subject existence (Gilje and Grimen, 1993) constructed by actor’s perceptions In this connection, the social reality can be understood by investigating the perceptions of the actors when the knowledge are capturing by interplaying between the researcher and the phenomena which are being researched (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002). This results by the process of interpretation from actor’s viewpoint and cognition ( Ibid).

In relation to the philosophy of this research, it was supported by a main philosophical approach: the phenomenological/interpretive approach. The current research is built up on the interpretivist paradigm which reflected throughout the research process, in the research questions and the methodology and design of this research. i.e to investigate the phenomenon of influence in the process of internationalization and how have managers perceived the effects of controls established in the process of internationalization.

The phenomenological paradigm as well reflected in the theoretical approach of the current research as it builds on the process theory providing with the perceptions of the changes in the organizations as a reality (Van de Ven and Poole, 1995; Poole et al., 2000; Mähring and Keil, 2008; Kraus and Strömsten, 2016) in which actors ( i.e managers) and their behavior and actions are involved.

The methods applied in this research support the interpretive approach. Thus, the process of data collecting (techniques and procedures) is built on the collecting of opinions, views and stories about the phenomenon investigated through interviews with the respondents. Such approach gave me the

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possibility to apprehend the personal perceptions and interpretations, understand how meanings about the concrete actions and situations are constructed (Czarniawska, 2004).

Ontology

The phenomenological/interpretivist approach in research presumes that the ontological nature of the phenomena is regarded to exist in the consciousness of actors, and that the reality of the phenomena is constructed by the actor’s cognition, presenting the reality by the subjective opinions and meanings (Lincoln and Cuba, 1985). The current research presents ontological perceptions in the describing and meditation of knowledge and judgments about the empirical world, created by the process of the internationalization and the situations, actors and phenomena involved in it.

Epistemology

The epistemological approach to present and describe phenomena is considered to occur from the meninges and standpoints of the subjective interpretations and perceptions. Thus, while the ontological assumptions describe the nature of the phenomenon of influence in the process of the internationalization as the reality, the epistemological contemplations raise the question of how the phenomenon of influence can be described, what are the interaction between the researcher and what can be explored about the phenomenon of influence in the process of internationalization – reality. In this connection the following assumption is important that the knowledge about the studied phenomena (i.e the phenomenon of influence in the process of internationalization of a Norwegian MNC) is considered to be a result of the researcher’s and the actors/respondent’s interaction. Usually, the researchers’ interpretation about the subjective standpoints and opinions provided by respondents, has the interaction with the researchers own pre-conceptual viewpoints. The researchers’ new comprehension of the phenomenon and the understanding of the reality through the respondent’s perceptions, have the impact on the researcher’s interpretation of the phenomenon in the theoretical context.

Methodology

The ontological and epistemological approaches in the phenomenological/interpretivist paradigm have the strong impact on the research methodology. So long the reality of the described phenomena is socially constructed, comprehension about the studied phenomena can only be understood from the actor’s perceptions and viewpoints. That requires the awareness about the methods applied to the research, as careful understanding of the insight to interpretation and standpoints presented by actors (Lincoln and Cuba, 1985). Thus, the research has to have a role as a participant in the actor’s reality,

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trying to interact it in order to interpret the reflections of cognitions about the phenomena/ phenomenon studied. At the same time, such interaction cannot impose bias in researcher’s interpretation (Lincoln and Cuba, 1985). Hence, actors are receiving an influential position in constructing both the knowledge in the research, the research design and the theories applied in the research. Relevant for this study, the key elements of this philosophical paradigm are presented, and there is a certain awareness of both its strengths and weaknesses, coincident with possibilities which focus on (adapted from Remenyi, 1998; Easterby-Smith et al., 2002; see also in Warner-Søderholm, 2010) evidence collection method and close contact between researcher and subjects. At the same time, data has been collected from small samples from the employees in “T”, the information was deliberately selected based on non-random selection, and evidence is rich and extensive. The insider’s point of view (emic) and descriptive write-up were preferred. The strengths of the phenomenological/interpretive approach, such as the ability to follow the change process in the process of the internationalization related to the phenomenon of influence over time and the opportunity to understand people’s opinions about what they have experiences both in HQ and in the subsidiaries abroad, contributed to the evolution of new theories (Ibid). At the same time, it is necessary to observe that the possible weaknesses of the above-named approach can be reflected in data collection, which can be time-consuming and resource-demanding, and the analysis and interpretation of data may be difficult. Using the phenomenological/interpretive approach, it was harder to control the pace and completion of a study, and research results may be given lower creditability, due to the issue of subjectivity. In order to avoid it the researcher needs to interact and be part of the reality of the respondents (Lincoln and Cuba, 1987).

Data collection

This is a case study of a Norwegian MNC, “T”: of both its HQ and some of its subsidiaries abroad.

The main source of empirical data was interviews: 34 face-to-face interviews and 21 conversations were held with “T”’s employees. Interviews, both structured and unstructured, were the main and most useful method of data collection, as they allowed me to go deeper into the research problem: in-depth, face-to-face interviews (personal interviews with the respondent informants inside the focus groups they belonged to) (Breweer, 2000). Most of the interviews were tape-recorded and later transcribed, which contributed to the collection of unimpaired notes but with all the information available later for full analysis. Since the interviews were exploratory in nature, special attention was focused on not steering the conversation towards the author’s personal viewpoints. At the same time, it is important to mention that many of the interviewees were new to the interview settings. In order to arrange the interview-process as comfortable as possible for the respondents, in some interviews the

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tape recorder was not used. Instead, it was made notes while the interviews have been conducted. The notes from each interview were transcribed after the interview was over. It was used the open-ended interviews as well (Kraus, et.al, 2016) that made the interview adaptive to each respondent, and created the conversational atmosphere, comfortable for the interviewee.

The average time taken per interview was 1.5 hours, while the average time taken per conversation was 30 minutes. All respondents had a role in the process of “T”’s internationalization.

In addition to that, 6 interviews and 3 conversations were conducted with managers from another companies than “T” aiming to get more background information about influence and control in the process of internationalization among the Norwegian enterprises.

The collected empirical material guided the research, and lead to the additional interviews, some of them were performed as telephone interviews, or telephone conversations. These interviews lasted in average 1 hours, and conversations between 25-35 minutes (average around 30 minutes).

The focus in the interview was on the following central questions: 1). How has the internationalization of “T” happened? 2.) What control mechanisms were in place during the different phases of internationalization? 3). How have managers perceived the effects of those controls? The questions that were asked had the purpose of getting the respondents to explain the practices in HQ and subsidiaries. Three languages were used for data collection (English, Norwegian and Russian).

Among the respondents were two former CEOs, former members of the executive board, former board members, present executives in “T”. “Access to elite groups is generally quite restricted” (Roberts et al., 2006 – see in Kraus and Strömsten, 2016) and the information collected required “discretion because the information was considered to be sensitive” (Kraus and Strömsten, 2016, p. 64). In this connection, the majority of data was collected in the period from 2011 to 2018, and the topics of many interviews were linked to historical aspects, describing the process of internationalization from 1991.

The author of this paper is also an employee of “T” and therefore had direct access to internal company documents and reports and “T”’s employees. Based on the agreements with “T”, the researchers used only information that could be published. This access made it possible for the author to have communication with “T”’s employees informally, providing the opportunity to complement the information provided by face-to-face interviews. Dialogues, discussions, conversations on the most

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discussed topics related to the research questions were provided; informal meetings were helpful in the early stage of the research process, to clarify the details around the key issues.

In order to present the insights into how the process of internationalization was developed, and what control mechanisms were used in order to achieve influence, the narrative stories told by some employees are presented and analyzed. In addition, secondary sources, such as annual reports and information from the website, have been used, in order to support the primary sources and verify the information from interviews.