Qualitative Methods in Management Doctoral Research

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Qualitative Methods in Management Doctoral
Research

• Nikhilesh Dholakia
• University of Rhode Island
• Alladi Venkatesh
• University of California, Irvine
• Mark M. Lennon
• University of Rhode Island

Presentation to IIMA Faculty, Staff Doctoral
Students, Saturday Jan. 15, 2005
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Introduction Typical B-School Doctoral Research

• Most doctoral work steers clear of epistemic,
  ontological, or pragmatic issues that are open
  ended and not subject to conventional
  measurement, yet critical to examine
• Hence the tendency to rely on data collected via
  large-sample surveys, experiments, or secondary
  sources

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Introduction Typical B-School Doctoral Research

• Then such data are subjected to standard
  statistical or econometric analysis
• Such overwhelming reliance on quantitative
  approaches results in key problem areas being
  left out of management research programs

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Introduction Qualitative B-School Doctoral
Research

• Small but growing groups in various management
  disciplines are beginning to employ qualitative
  methods
• Though fewer, they often have high and
  significant impact on the relevant managerial
  fields
• Such work often wins awards, acclaim, or attracts
  notice and wide-ranging citation
• We will present some experiences from University
  of Rhode Island (URI) and University of
  California, Irvine (UCI)

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Qualitative Doctoral Research Why is it
significant?

• Qualitative researchers often lay bare many
  epistemic, ontological, and pragmatic assumptions
  of their disciplines
• Such research becomes the basis of foundational
  theorizing in some of the unexplored but
  essential areas
• Examples Product Design, Internet Marketing and
  Advertising, Brand Imagery and Aesthetics,
  Experiential Environments (e.g., office and
  retail spaces), Crosscultural Consumer Behavior,
  Human-Computer Interface, Group Dynamics and
  Negotiations

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Qualitative Research Benefits and Uses

• In-depth data, like good wine, retains richness
  and can be archived and used for longer periods
  than typical survey data
• Qualitative methods bring researchers close to
  the data there is wallowing in data rather than
  antiseptic distancing from data
• Direct observation of behavior and/or
  participation enriches data quality
• In-depth, rich causal explanations are possible
  in qualitative research

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Qualitative Research Benefits and Uses

• Qualitative methods very useful for theory
  construction
• Theorizing can be done without statistical
  sampling
• Various ways of using Qualitative Research
• Exploratory (prior to quantitative research)
• Complementary (to quantitative research)
• Elaboration/Gap-filling (after quantitative
  research)
• Independent/Standing-on-its-own

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Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research
Qualitative
Information Content
Number of Variables
Quantitative
Number of Respondents
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Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

• Goal is not to discover statistical central
  tendencies
• The range of human behaviors in most fields is
  finite, limited

Central Tendency
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Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

• Goal is to describe, provide in-depth
  explanations of phenomena/ relationships
• Emic redundancies Stories repeat

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Examples from UCI and URI

• Topic/Remarks
• Consumption Practices of Mexican Immigrants in
  Retail Environments Winner Best
  dissertation-based paper, Journal of Consumer
  Research
• Art Marketing and Consumer Behavior

• Researcher/ University
• Lisa Peñaloza/ UCI
• Laurie Meamber/ UCI

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Examples from UCI and URI

• Topic/Remarks
• Consumption Elaboration of Funerary Rituals in
  Ghana
• Online Investor Behavior in USA and Germany
  Winner MSI/Clayton
  Dissertation Proposal Award

• Researcher/ University
• Samuel Bonsu/ URI
• Detlev Zwick/ URI

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Examples from UCI and URI

• Researcher/ University
• Keith Neergaard/ UCI
• Rika Houston/ UCI

• Topic/Remarks
• Family Health Care
• Birth Experiences Among Japanese Women

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Examples from UCI and URI

• Topic/Remarks
• Women Managers in Organizations Glass Ceilings
  and Related Issues
• Global Diffusion of the Internet With Focus on
  India, Nepal, USA Winner ACR/Sheth
  Foundation Dissertation Proposal Award

• Researcher/ University
• Kathleen Mallon/ URI
• Nir Kshetri/ URI

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Examples from UCI and URI

• Topic/Remarks
• Children and Electronic Media
• Consumption of Genetically Modified Food

• Researcher/ University
• Nivein Behairy/ UCI
• Maria Kniezeva/ UCI

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Mobile Communications in Asia Mark Lennon

• A dissertation under planning at URI
• Examining Mobile Commerce and Mobile
  Communications in China, Japan, and India
• Topics including Battles of Dominant Designs,
  Technology Acceptance and Strategic Leapfrogging,
  Globalizability of Business Models

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Mobile Communications in Asia

• Battles of Dominant Designs 2.5G 3G in Japan,
  NTT DoCoMo vs. KDDI
• Technology Acceptance Strategic Leapfrogging
  SMS, Mobile Internet in China India
• Globalizability of Business Models NTT DoCoMo
  experiences in taking i-Mode model abroad

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Mobile Communications in Asia

• Battles of Dominant Designs In-depth interviews
  of executives/experts, content analysis of ads
• Technology Acceptance Strategic Leapfrogging
  In-depth interviews of executives/government
  policy makers
• Globalizability of Business Models Analysis of
  secondary sources (e.g. financial data, published
  articles), In-depth interviews

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Challenges

• publishing of qualitative work in marketing
  and consumer behavior is not easy and this is
  so...less because both disciplines are
  experiment-biased but rather (and ironically)
  because of the narrow interpretation of how
  qualitative research papers have to be written..

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Concluding Remarks

• Qualitative research is here to stay
• Small but growing influence
• URI-UCI experiences have been very gratifying in
  terms of topics and impacts
• Emerging economy contexts have greater variety
  and range of problem areas
• Qualitative research approaches offer good
  options of doctoral research in emerging economies