Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

4. Methodology
Evangelia Siachou, S<strong>of</strong>ia Daskou and Peter Yannopoulos
With <strong>the</strong> aim to explore <strong>the</strong> above mentioned proposition, <strong>the</strong> study adopted a qualitative approach
which aided <strong>the</strong> researchers to discover <strong>the</strong> potential role <strong>of</strong> MMs in <strong>the</strong> absorptive capacity <strong>of</strong> Greek
entrepreneurs. The research design was developed with <strong>the</strong> scope to undergo an exploratory study
which would help <strong>the</strong> researchers develop a survey later on. The purpose <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> study is not to test a
hypo<strong>the</strong>sis but ra<strong>the</strong>r to help form one. Epistemologically <strong>the</strong> study was developed from <strong>the</strong> view point
<strong>of</strong> Realism, (<strong>the</strong> academic expertise <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> researchers that also serves <strong>the</strong> research question) and
made use <strong>of</strong> semi-structured interviews with Greek entrepreneurs (owners/managers) <strong>of</strong> family owned
enterprises. The fieldwork was conducted in three (3) phases. In <strong>the</strong> first phase <strong>the</strong> participant firms
were pulled from two (2) formal networks representing <strong>the</strong> sectors <strong>of</strong> Construction Materials (CMN)
and Food & Beverages (FBN) and were pr<strong>of</strong>iled. In <strong>the</strong> second and third phases, twelve (12)
interviews with FBN entrepreneurs and fourteen (14) interviews with CMN entrepreneurs took place
and data were tabulated on protocols that serviced <strong>the</strong> interview guides. The samples were accessed
by permission and recommendation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir founding Institution (<strong>the</strong> Development Agency <strong>of</strong> Karditsa:
ANKA), since <strong>the</strong>y were <strong>the</strong> only formal business networks in <strong>the</strong> region. The census <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> members
was selected, in order to acquire a pluralistic view <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> data. Given <strong>the</strong> small number <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
population, <strong>the</strong> interviews were done at <strong>the</strong> census <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> network members, ra<strong>the</strong>r than on a sample.
The pr<strong>of</strong>iles <strong>of</strong> phase one (1), were content analyzed and <strong>the</strong> findings <strong>of</strong> that analysis were used to
inform <strong>the</strong> researchers’ development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> interview protocols <strong>of</strong> phases two (2) and three (3). The
findings <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> twenty-eight (26) interviews were content analyzed and were fur<strong>the</strong>r processed using
<strong>the</strong> analysis tools <strong>of</strong> Conceptually Thematic matrices (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The findings <strong>of</strong>
this exploratory study are only tentative to <strong>the</strong> study and by no means prescriptive or generalizable.
5. Findings
The findings <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> study reflect <strong>the</strong> views <strong>of</strong> entrepreneurs who are members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> FBN and <strong>the</strong>
CMN operating in <strong>the</strong> Region <strong>of</strong> Thessaly in Greece. The Networks were formalized as a
consequence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> initiative <strong>of</strong> ANKA an NGO Development Agency that serves <strong>the</strong> local region. The
interviewees were all general managers/owners <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> networked enterprises. The customer centered
MMs are conceptualized to address <strong>the</strong> thinking <strong>of</strong> managers which is focused around customer
preferences (Voss and Voss, 2000) and behaviors, and more particularly focus on good customer
service, customer retention, customer segmentation and product innovation (Karakaya and
Yannopoulos, 2010). Managers who adopt market driven MMs focus on issues <strong>of</strong> monitoring <strong>of</strong>
competitive activity and customer requirements (Day and Nendungadi, 1994) and anticipation <strong>of</strong>
competitive behavior and customer needs (Karakaya and Yannopoulos, 2010). Market driven
managers anticipate competition and that information is shared with <strong>the</strong> rest <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> organization (Day,
1994). Managers who adopt competitor centered MMs analyze competitive activity and adopt
defensive action again competition (Karakaya and Yannopoulos, 2010). Self centered MMs are
characterized with limited responsiveness towards <strong>the</strong> completion and <strong>the</strong> needs <strong>of</strong> customers (Day,
1994; Maignan and Lukas, 1997). The findings are presented below in terms <strong>of</strong> each network <strong>of</strong>
entrepreneurs.
5.1 Construction Materials Networks (CMN)
The analyzed data revealed that at a majority <strong>the</strong> CMN members adopt ei<strong>the</strong>r customer centered or
market driven MMs. More specifically, half <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> CMN sample declared that <strong>the</strong>ir strategic decision
making is driven by information that refers to activities and practices <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> competition. The
knowledge <strong>the</strong>y receive about competitive practice (via intelligence, market research and networking)
is processed in terms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir crystallized views <strong>of</strong> how competitors generally behave in <strong>the</strong> market. In
monitoring <strong>the</strong> competition <strong>the</strong> CMN entrepreneurs seem to automatically review competitive activities
concerning product promotions, product mix and prices, but not much more beyond that. This adopted
behavior automates <strong>the</strong>ir ability to evaluate <strong>the</strong> market knowledge that is external to <strong>the</strong> firm, and so
information that flows inwards to <strong>the</strong> firm are to a certain degree took on board when management
decision are made. Some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> respondents <strong>of</strong> this sample also mentioned that <strong>the</strong>ir participation in
<strong>the</strong> CMN may <strong>of</strong>fer <strong>the</strong>m some access to market information relevant to new technologies and
cooperative learning.
Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, when considering expanding <strong>the</strong>ir business in <strong>the</strong> region, <strong>the</strong> CMN entrepreneurs
consider external information about product mix demand, customer requirements and preferences. In
addition when <strong>the</strong> CMN entrepreneurs attempt to expand <strong>the</strong>ir business nationally or internationally,
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