realism rules ok: scientific paradigms in marketing ... - ANZMAC

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Figure 1 Differences between analytical and statistical generalisation from the point of view of realism THEORY analytical generalisation OBSERVABLE, SURFACE REALITY = experiences research findings ACTUAL REALITY = experiences and events UNDERLYING REALITY of mechanisms that generate events and experiences Note: = insight-rich findings X = findings of a survey of ‘observable’, independent phenomena X X statistical generalisation X theories about how the world and its complex interdependent phenomena within which nestle the new theories from the research X X X 1954
Case Study Methodology Justification of the case study research methodology. Within the realism paradigm discussed above, the case study research methodology appears to be especially appropriate for marketing research about issues like networks. Note that we are referring to the rigorously analytical method of case study research (Perry 1998; Yin 1994; Perry and Coote 1994) not the merely descriptive use of case studies that led reviewers of many US PhD theses to comment that the best way of improving them would be to ban the use of case study research (Adams and White 1994). This case study research methodology is usually based on interviews within 4 to 14 cases conducted using set questions in an interview protocol. The data is analysed using structured steps outlined in Miles and Huberman (1994), Perry and Coote (1994) and Perry (1998). There are four major reasons for using this qualitative research methodology of case studies for research about marketing issues like networks. The first reason relates to its preparadigmatic stage (Borch and Arthur 1995). Qualitative methods such as case studies address theory construction and theory building rather than theory testing and theory verification (Tsoukas 1989; Lincoln and Guba 1985; Bonoma 1985). In the early stages of theory development where phenomena are not well comprehended and the relations between phenomena are not known, quantitative research methods can lead to inconclusive findings (Parkhe 1993). In contrast, theory is built in case study and related qualitative research by making comparisons, looking for similarities and differences within the collected data, and for future questions to be examined (Neuman 1994, p. 405). That is, elements of the theory are being confirmed or disconfirmed, rather than being tested for generalisability to a population. Furthermore, a qualitative or exploratory method makes the research effort more flexible and allows data and theory to interact (Neuman 1994, p. 322), at least in the early stages of the research project. In particular, this first justification for case study research methodology relates to network research. Several authors have looked upon organisations as social constructions whose strategies and policies change as a result of processes of human reaction and they have advocated qualitative research such as in-depth case studies to outline important dynamic dimensions of strategy development. Indeed, as Borch and Arthur (1995, p. 436) themselves argued, “at the present state of knowledge within strategic network research, theory creation should have priority over theory verification”. The second reason for using a qualitative method like case studies is the need to delve deep to gain an understanding of the phenomenon. The primary objective of case study and related qualitative research is to understand the phenomena under research and interpret the respondent’s experiences and beliefs in their own terms (Gilmore and Carson 1996). The depth and detail of qualitative data can be obtained only by getting physically and psychologically closer to the phenomena through in-depth interviews: “the closer the researcher gets to the phenomenon, the clearer it is understood” (Carson and Coviello 1996, p. 55; Merriam 1988, p. 68). Thus “previously unknown relationships … can be expected to emerge from case studies leading to a rethinking of 1955
Page 1 and 2: Theme: Firms & Networks REALISM RUL
Page 3 and 4: INTRODUCTION In recent years, resea
Page 5 and 6: treating respondents as independent
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Page 13: Orlikowski, W. J. and Baroudi, J.J.

realism rules ok: scientific paradigms in marketing ... - ANZMAC

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