Processes of a case study methodology for postgraduate research in marketingWord格式.docx
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Abstract
Qualitativeresearchhasnotbeenviewedasarigorousalternativetoestablishedquantitativemethodsinpostgraduatemarketingresearch.However,thispaperreportsontheAustraliandevelopmentofasuccessful,structuredapproachtousingthecasestudymethodologyinpostgraduateresearch.Itsaimistopresentandjustifyguidelinesforusingthecasestudyresearchmethodologyinhonours,mastersandPhDresearchtheses,andsoitshouldinterestcandidatesandtheirsupervisors.First,appropriatepositionsonarangeofscientificparadigmsandcoreissuesofinductionanddeductionareestablished.Thenimplementationofthecasestudymethodologyisexamined,includingthenumbersofcasestudiesandofinterviews.Unusualbuteffectiveusesoftheoreticalreplicationtorigorouslyanalyzecasestudydataareillustratedfrompostgraduatetheses.Finally,aframeworkisprovidedforconstructingathesis,emphasizingthekeymethodologychapter.
ArticleType:
Technicalpaper
Keyword(s):
Australia;
Casestudies;
Marketingresearch;
Marketingtheory;
Methodology.
Journal:
EuropeanJournalofMarketing
Volume:
32
Number:
9/10
Year:
1998
pp:
785-802
Copyright©
MCBUPLtd
ISSN:
0309-0566
Introduction
Casestudiesarefamiliartomarketingeducatorsandtheirstudentsasateachingdevice.Forexample,theHarvardBusinessSchool’scasesarewidelyusedtoallowstudentstobeemotionallyinvolvedandlearnaction-relatedanalysisofreal,complexsituations(ChristensenandHansen,1987).However,althoughcasestudiescanalsobeusedasaresearchmethodology(Easton,1994a;
Parkhe,1993;
Tsoukas,1989;
Yin,1993,1994),nojournalofresearchcasestudiesorcasestudymethodsexistsandthemostcommonsocialscienceandevaluationresearchmethodstextbooks“hardlymentioncasestudies”(Yin,1993,p.xi).Indeed,onesurveyofPhDdissertationsinsixfieldsconcludedthatcasestudieswereinappropriateinpostgraduateresearch,thatis,onewaytorectifythe“mindlessempiricism”ofmanydoctoraldissertationswouldbeto“simplyeliminate…casestudydissertations”(AdamsandWhite,1994,p.573).
ThispaperreportstheAustraliandevelopmentofasuccessful,structuredapproachtousingthecasestudymethodologyinpostgraduateresearch.Thepaperisdesignedforpostgraduateresearchstudentsinmarketingandtheirsupervisors,foritsaimistopresentandjustifyguidelinesforusingthecasestudyresearchmethodologyinhonours,mastersandPhDresearchtheses.Thatis,onlycasestudiesusedinpostgraduatethesesareconsidered,andnotthoseusedforotherpurposessuchasconsulting(Yin,1994),programevaluation(Patton,1990)ormarketresearch.
Thepaper’scontributiontomarketingeducationderivesfromitsfocusonstructured,postgraduateresearchprocessesandfromitsdetailedtreatmentofpriortheoryandinductionincasestudyresearch.Marketingeducationwillbenefitfromitsrigorousproceduresforpostgraduatestudentstoresearchcomplex,contemporarytopicsrelevanttotheircurrentorfuturecareers,aboutwhichlittleacademicresearchhasbeenpublished.RecentexamplesofthesetopicsaremarketingontheInternet,businessreengineeringandcustomerservice,homebanking,marketingofcommunitymuseums,andorganizationalaccountabilityofthemarketingcommunicationsfunction.InthemarketingdepartmentofoneAustralianuniversityin1995,allfivehonoursandthreeofthefivemastersbyresearchstudentsoptedtousethismethodology;
allcompletedtheirthesiswithinnormaltime,indeed,themaster’stheseswerefinishedthreetofivemonthsbeforeminimumtime.Halftheexaminerspassedthetheseswithoutrevisionandtheotherexaminers’revisionsrequiredlessthanonedaytocomplete.Refereedandunrefereedconferencepapersbasedonmanycasestudytheseshavebeenpresentedatinternationalconferences,andmostofthestudentssubsequentlygainedthejobstheyhadworkedtowards.
Thepaperhasastructurethatrangesfromstrategictotacticalissues,becausebothmustbemasteredforcasestudiestobeunderstoodandappliedinpostgraduatetheses.First,theappropriatescientificparadigmandlevelsofinductionanddeductionareestablished.Implementationofthecasestudymethodologyisthenexamined,includingthenumberofcasestudiesandinterviews.Useoftheoreticalreplicationtorigorouslyanalyzecasestudydataisillustratedfromapostgraduatethesis.Finally,aframeworkisprovidedforconstructingathesis,emphasizingthekeymethodologychapter.
Becauseofthespecificfocusofthispaper,casestudyresearchmethodologyisdefinedas“aresearchmethodologybasedoninterviewsthatisusedinapostgraduatethesisinvolvingabodyofknowledge”.Themethodologyusuallyinvestigatesacontemporaryphenomenonwithinitsreal-lifecontextwhentheboundariesbetweenphenomenonandcontextarenotclearlyevident(Yin,1994,p.13).
Scientificparadigms
Therearetwomajorapproachestotheorydevelopment,deductivetheorytestingandinductivetheorybuilding(Bonoma,1985;
Romano,1989).Thedifferencebetweenthetwoapproachescanbeviewedintermsofscientificparadigms,withthedeductiveapproachrepresentingthepositivistparadigmandtheinductiveapproachrepresentingthephenomologicalparadigm(Easterby-Smithetal.,1991,p.24).Moreprecisely,thephenomologicalparadigmcanbedividedintothree:
criticaltheory,constructivismandrealism(GubaandLincoln,1994).TableIisaconceptualschemaofthesefourparadigms,usingthreecolumnswhichallowtheevaluationofeachparadigmforcasestudyresearch(basedonGubaandLincoln,1994;
Hunt1991;
OrlikowskiandBaroudi,1991;
Tsoukas,1989).ThecolumnsinTableIrefertothedimensionsofdeduction/induction,objective/subjectiveandcommensurable/incommensurable.Eachofthosedimensionsisdiscussednext.
Realismisthepreferredparadigmforcasestudyresearchforseveralreasons.First,casestudyresearchareasareusuallycontemporaryandpre-paradigmatic,suchasinter-organizationalrelationshipsandrelationshipmarketing(Boing,1994).Thatis,theresearchareasusuallyrequireinductivetheorybuildingfordeductionfromalreadyexistingprinciplesofa“paradigm”islikelytobedifficultwhereacceptedprinciplesandconstructshavenotbeenestablishedorareclearlyinadequate.Second,realismdoesnotsufferfromthelimitationsofrelativism(Hunt,1991)thatconstructivismandcriticaltheorydo,forrealismisoftencharacterizedbysomeresearcherobjectivity.Thatis,itholdsthatthereisanexternalreality(Tsoukas,1989),althoughthecomplexityofthatrealityandthelimitationsofaresearcher’smentalcapacitymakestriangulationofdataessentialtorefinefallibleobservationsofthatreality.Thecontinuingeffortsofmanymarketingresearchersalmostnecessitatesthebeliefthatthereisanexternalworldwhichcanberesearched(Hunt,1991;
Leplin,1986).Inotherwords,casestudyresearcheffortsusuallyinvolvethecollectionofperceptionsof“unobservable”externalworldphenomenasuchasperceptionsthatare“unobservable”(Hunt,1991,p.282),forexample,viewsaboutnon-economicandnon-technologicalmotivationsinrelationshipmarketing.Ashasbeennotedinthemarketingliterature(Hunt,1991),positivismrequiresthatonlyobservablephenomenacanandshouldberesearched,sorealismratherthanpositivismisamoreappropriateepistemologicalguideforcasestudyresearch.
ComingtothethirddimensioninTableI,casestudyresearchersexpectthattheirknowledgeclaimscanandwillbeevaluatedthroughsomecommonmeasures,likereliabilityandvalidityissues,carefulevaluationofresearchtopicandmethodology,andthroughreviewbyexaminers.Thiscommensurabiltyisnotsoevidentinconstructivismandcriticaltheoryresearch.Inbrief,realismistheappropriatescientificparadigmforcasestudyresearch.Howthispositionjustifiessomeproceduresisnotednextandlater,astheproceduresarediscussed.
Giventhisappropriatenessofrealismforcasestudyresearch,theresearchproblemsaddressedinthesesaremoredescriptivethanprescriptive,forexample,nopositivistexperimentsorcause-and-effectpathsarerequiredtosolvetheresearchproblem.Thatis,theresearchproblemisusuallya“howdo?
”problemratherthana“howshould?
”problem.This“howdo”ratherthan“howshould”problemcapturesthepositiveversusnormativedichotomy,forcasestudyresearchisconcernedwithdescribingrealworldphenomenaratherthandevelopingnormativedecisionmodels.Becauseinductive,theorybuildingratherthantheorytestingisthegoalofthethesis,itsfinalchaptermustalwayspresentaproposedtheorytosolvethe“howdo”researchproblembasedonamodelofboxesandconnectinglines.Moreover,thefinal“furtherresearch”sectionofthethesiswillacknowledgethatthistheorywillhavetobetestedforstatisticalgeneralizabilityinlater,