We conducted field observations from the forum and interviews with informants from all 11 member firms of the network. The essential data for this study was collected in the period from September 2017 to February 2018. In addition to interviews and observations, we have employed several sources of data such as network-specific, company-specific and industry-specific archival data. The next paragraphs will explain the data collection in greater detail.
3.3.1 Interviews
Interviews with chief executive officers and middle managers in the network have been the main source of data for this thesis. The interviews were conducted in two phases, where the first phase consisted of eight interviews with managers from Ruter. As Ruter is the lead organisation and initiator of this network, we interviewed several informants from Ruter. The first interviews were held to test the interview guide and gain a deeper understanding of the company, the network and the industry.
The following 19 interviews were conducted with informants from the partners and operators. These firms were encouraged by Ruter to participate in the study, which made the process of contacting the firms uncomplicated. Our ambition was initially to conduct two or more interviews with informants from each firm in the network.
However, this was proved to be difficult as some firms are small and key individuals
have limited time capacity. All firms showed interest in the study and participated with at least one informant. The informants were top and middle managers in their respective organisation and possessed expertise and familiarity with the network.
We chose to interview key individuals on a high level because they are the ones making the strategic decisions, and have the overall responsibility for their respective companies. Based on the interviews with Ruter we developed a separate interview guide aimed for the interviews with the partners and the operators.
Although the two interview guides were similar, we drew on some of the findings from the interviews with Ruter to compare different perceptions, and gain a deeper understanding of the interpersonal dynamics as well as to understand the different roles.
As the objective of the interviews was to encourage the participants to speak freely, yet stick to the research topic, we found semi-structured interviews to be appropriate. Semi-structured interview is a term used to describe interviews where the interviewer follows a general interview guide and can ask follow up questions if something of particular interest is being addressed by the interviewee (Bryman &
Bell, 2015). During the interviews, the interviewer encouraged the interviewee to give examples of the issues they addressed to improve our comprehension of a certain situation. We believe that this is an adequate approach for our study. By letting the participants speak freely, we can more efficiently capture the individuals’
experiences and reflections about the network (Grabener et al., 2012).
In every interview, there have been two interviewers present. As argued by Bechhofer, Elliott and McCrone (1984) it is an advantage of being more than one interviewer, as one can take the active role and one can take a more passive role.
During the interviews, one has been in charge of the conversation, and the other has taken notes and observed the interview. We have experienced the advantage of interviewing in pairs, where the observing interviewer can make sure that all important topics are covered.
Furthermore, all interviews have been recorded and transcribed. After transcription, we quality checked each other’s transcripts to ensure that no important messages were left behind or misinterpreted. This was done by listening to the recorded interview and reading the belonging transcript simultaneously. Recording and
transcribing the interviews allow for a more thorough examination of the data and provides a more reliable material for the analysis (Bryman & Bell, 2015).
In total, we have conducted 27 interviews with an average time of 47 minutes. A more detailed overview of the interviews is shown in table 2.
Table 2. Overview of interviews
3.3.2 Observation
During the projects time horizon (September 2017 - June 2018), we have been present at four “Operator and Partner Forums”. Being present in these meetings has enabled us to gain a better insight into the network, and observe how these meetings are structured and facilitated. Field notes were taken during the observations, and narratives were written immediately after the forums.
3.3.3 Archival data
In addition to collecting primary data by observing and interviewing, we have also accessed archival secondary data such as reports from previous network meetings, attendance protocols, data from surveys about the network collaboration, and material from the work on creating a common vision. We were given access to 1180 documents, and we identified 58 of these documents as relevant for a more thorough review. Archival data has been applied to obtain information about previous work processes and the topics covered in the forum. This historical data gives us insight
into the development of the network and how the collaborative environment has evolved over time. Moreover, we have taken advantage of news reports, industry analysis, academic articles and websites which we regarded as relevant.