Research Design

When deciding the framework of research design, the researcher has to decide how to collect and analyze the data in order to answer the research questions. This means that the researcher has to consider each step of the research process in order to provide a suitable research design (Bryman, 2016). Research design is defined by Yin (2014) as

“an action plan for getting from here to there, where there may be defined as the initial set of questions to be answered, and there is some set of conclusions (answers)

about these questions” (Yin, 2014). Research design can thus be understood as a researcher’s plan of research from the research questions to conclusions. The research design is a guide through the collecting, analyzing, and interpretations of the data. Its purpose is to help the researcher collect and analyse data that is directly relevant to the research question (Bryman, 2016). When choosing a case study design it is possible to choose both quantitative research or qualitative research methods, or a combination of the two. A researcher can choose different types of research methods in order to answer the research questions, for example through interviews,

observations or through questionnaires (Gillham, 2000).

Case studies are chosen because of the contextual frame of a phenomenon; case studies are appropriate when a researcher wants to explain a phenomenon within a particular context (Yin, 2014). This is suitable in this master thesis since the research purpose is to understand how Grieg Philippines identifies and prioritize their

stakeholders.

A case study is appropriate as a research strategy when:

1. The research questions are posed as “how” or “why”.

2. When the events in the research are out of the researchers control.

3. When the research is conducted on a phenomenon that is placed within a real-life context (Yin, 2014).

When choosing a case study, the researcher can either choose to do a single case study, which is the most used type, or a multiple-case study. The multiple-case study design means that the researcher compares two or three cases in order to improve theory building. I have chosen to conduct a single case study design, which means research on a single entity, such as a community, family, organization, person or event. Case studies is a focused and detailed examination of a particular setting, and is a thorough analysis of a single case (Bryman, 2016). Yin (1994) distinguishes

between three types of case studies: descriptive, explanatory and exploratory case study. When deciding one of these case studies, it is important to have the three criteria in mind. A descriptive case study presupposes that the researcher presents a descriptive theory, and uses this as a basis to research a phenomenon in its natural context. The researcher uses a descriptive case study with a goal to describe a

phenomenon using a descriptive theory. An explanatory case study is used when a researcher want to explain how and why a phenomenon or an event has happened, and is used to describe the context of similar phenomenon or events. If a researcher wants to conduct a study of causation between two phenomenons, an explanatory case study is appropriate. The researcher examines gathered data both at the surface and at a deep level in order to answer the research questions and explain the phenomenon studied. An exploratory case study is appropriate when the researcher wants to study phenomenon that has been subjected to little previous research. An exploratory case study is then used to understand this phenomenon, and the goal is to identify the research questions or the research process. (Yin, 1994).

Much research has been done in order to understand the complexity of corporate social responsibility and different ways of identifying and prioritizing stakeholders has been proposed. However, the globalized nature of the shipping industry makes it difficult for shipping companies to identify their stakeholders. The nature and the importance of stakeholders within the shipping industry are ever changing, which creates a complex pattern of stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to understand how and why a company identifies their stakeholders and how they are prioritized in a changing environment. The case study most appropriate in this paper will therefore be an exploratory case study. This choice is based on how much research is previously done on this particular issue, as well as how much time and resources that is available (Bryman, 2016).

Yin (2014) distinguished between four types of designs for case studies by using a 2X2 matrix:

1. Single-case (holistic) designs 2. Single-case (embedded) designs 3. Multiple-case (holistic) designs 4. Multiple-case (embedded) designs

I have chosen to conduct a single-case design in my research. One disadvantage by choosing a single-case study is that the research conducted turns out not to be true. It is therefore crucial that the researcher investigates the phenomenon thoroughly in order not to misrepresent the phenomenon. A multiple case study has the advantage of

being stronger and often results in more dependable results, since a multiple case study researches more than one case to highlight an issue (Yin, 2014). This thesis will look at Grieg Star within a wider context of the shipping industry and stakeholder theory. For the purpose of this thesis I have chosen a single-case embedded design.

Embedded design differentiates from holistic design by focusing on subunits, and not only on the organization as a whole. As I am conducting interviews with certain employees that are relevant to my research questions, an embedded design is more appropriate than a holistic approach. The interviews will reflect the opinions of these employees, with the understanding that other employees might have different views of stakeholder identification and prioritization.