Analytical procedures

Transcription

Transcription took place after the completion of each data collection phase. Recorded interview conversations were manually transcribed into a text document. All the original transcripts, and translated English versions, were sent back to the interviewees to cross-check for accuracy, as well as to verify if there were any sensitive materials which they wanted to be excluded from this study. A coding start list (Figure 6) was initiated based on Western studies about SPs conduct, where the key attributes during the different stages of SP development were highlighted to categorise the collected data in a different Chinese context for analysis.

As suggested by Eisenhardt (1989), this research followed three stages during the data analysis process, after data was collected for the research objectives. These were data coding, within-case analysis, and cross-case analysis.

Data coding

Data was coded using an abbreviation method, according to the specific subject and how the questions aligned with the research objectives. The coding start list is presented in the following Figure 6, which was initiated from the review of Western SP studies.

Following the practice described by Miles and Huberman (1994), data coding was done at an early stage of the case study analysis in order to group and categorise the bulk of the data obtained from the research accordingly, based on the coding lists pre- determined from the literature. As Figure 6 shows, topics and sub-topics were constructed from attributes in the literature on CSR and SP conduct. Coding benefits The analysis was benefited through the use of coding; data was tagged to make it easier to access and identify new insights by filtering out irrelevant data unrelated to the research objective or conceptual framework. Observational notes and other secondary data were also coded and sorted accordingly for further analysis in conjunction with the collected primary data.

55 Figure 6 Coding Start List

Topic Sub-Topic Code Description

Motivation Internal Factor OM-IF Motivational factor(s) within the organisation External Factor OM-EF Factor(s) from the external environment

Formation Evaluation Criteria AF-EC Criteria(s) used by a party for evaluating a possible alliance with another organisation.

Selection Process AF-SP Partner selection process(es) during the formation stage Objective Primary Objective AO-PO Identified primary objective(s) of the organisation

through the alliance

Secondary Objective AO-SO Identified secondary objective(s) of the organisation through the alliance

Expectation Self Performance Reflection

E-SER Self-assessment of responsibility and expectation in the alliance

Partner Expectation E-PE Specific expectation of the counter-party from organisation’s perspective

Resource Monetary Resource RU-MR Identified monetary resource(s) utilised in facilitating the alliance

Non-Monetary

Resource RU-NMR Identified non-monetary resource(s) utilised in facilitating the alliance Commitment Commitment

Assessment C-CA Recognised commitment(s) of organisation in the alliance Partner Assessment C-PA Recognised commitment(s) of counter-party organisation

in the alliance

Achievement Monitoring Approach A-MA Monitoring approach used by of organisation to assess the performance of the alliance

Outcome Evaluation A-OE Evaluation criteria(s) used by organisation to assess the outcome of the alliance

Notable Achievement A-NA Identified achievement(s) of the alliance from the organisational perspective

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Single-case analysis

According to Eisenhardt (1999) and Yin (2003), within-case analysis utilises relevant, structured information that has been extracted from the collected data. This analysis focuses on the integration of the case study with the research objective in an inductive fashion, to accommodate the exploratory methodology in this research. Following

Yin’s recommendation (2003), each case was discussed and summarised into subheadings following a uniformed pattern.

An empirical pattern from the literature was used as a reference for a comparison, to strengthen the legitimacy and validity of this study (Yin, 2003). This design was based on the natural progress of conducting a SP, and has incorporated the available literature to examine each single case study and to identify the attributes within, in the unique context of the individual SP. In order to ensure the validity of the case analysis, a pattern-matching approach was incorporated in this research to analyse each case within the unit of analysis.

Specifically, each single-case study was discussed under these uniformed sub- headings following the same flow used in the interview script and coding process, covering the entire development progress of SP, from initial motivation to evaluation:

x Focal firm background

x NPO background

x Formation of the partnership x Partnership objective x Expectations x Resource utilisation x Commitment x Achievements assessments Cross-case analysis

Cross-case analysis was conducted to compare common characteristics among the single-case studies, and then utilise available theories to identify emerging themes. As

57 Eisenhardt (1989) pointed out, comparisons and correlations between cases can help researchers to justify findings and to avoid biased conclusions from analysis of single source of data. Thus, cross-case analysis enabled this research to explore significant differences and to illustrate the unique characteristics of the studied Chinese SPs. Comparing and identifying common characteristics across each unit of analysis from single-cases enabled identification of the emerging themes.

These emerging themes, defined in the analysis section in accordance with the recommendations of Eisenhardt (1989), provided valid analyses based on comparisons with the existing literature. The purpose and aim of building the themes from single cases was to identify the pattern and common features from single cases and respondents, and eventually construct the propositions from these emerged themes. This would lead to theory development in this specific SP context at the end of the analysis process.