Section 3: Data Analysis
3.2 Template Analysis
3.2.3 Coding
Once definitions had been attached to each theme, it was necessary to arrange the data in a way which would be conducive of a detailed analysis. King (2004) advocates a hierarchical structure of arranging data. This hierarchical structure is created by allocating ‗higher order codes‘ to the most general themes while more narrowly defined sub-themes are attached to ‗lower order codes‘. While reviewing definitions of each theme, a 3-order hierarchy depicted in table 3.1 emerged.
36 O e this o ditio as et, the t o othe atego ies e a e edu da t.
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Table 3.1: Coding Corporate Disputes
First Order
Management 1.1 Diversion 1.2
Second Order
1. Bankruptcy 1.1.1
2. Ownership 1.1.2
3. Misinvestment 1.1.3 4. Misimplementation 1.1.4
5. Taxes 1.1.5
6. Control 1.1.6
1. Diversion of Assets 1.2.1 2. Diversion of Claims 1.2.2
Third Order Disputes
D
Resolution ES
1. State Interference 2. Inadequate Information 3. General Meetings 4. Unclear Rules
5. Transactions with Self-Interest
6. Relationship-Based 7. Self-Enforcement
8. Third-Party Enforcement 9. Private Enforcement
10. Administrative Levers of the State 11. Shadow of Enforcement
12. Litigation
First Order Codes
All recorded disputes could be divided into two very broad categories: disputes to do with the way companies are managed and disputes that arise as a result of misappropriation (or diversion of funds and assets). This distinction resembles Fox
& Heller‘s grouping of ‗non-maximisation of residuals‘ and ‗non pro-rata distributions‘ pathologies. However, in this research the codes correspond to the themes that are defined by the content of the articles, and therefore a priori themes used at the initial stage of the analysis became redundant once they fulfilled the purpose of assisting the initial stage of coding.
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Second Order Codes
The second order codes reveal the asymmetric structure of the hierarchy.
Managerial disputes are subdivided into 6 codes while diversion disputes consist of only two. As far as template analysis is concerned this asymmetry does not pose a problem because the coding is not supposed to be predetermined, but is created by the researcher himself while engaging with the data. At this stage it is important to state that parallel coding was employed in the analysis of the data (King, 2004). The same dispute could be coded as both e.g. diversion of claims and misinvestment. This fact detracts from the meaningfulness of citing the frequency37 of a particular type of dispute, but contributes positively to the level of detail with which templates capture reported data.
Third Order Codes
The purpose of the third order codes is to capture intricate details of the data set.
Altogether, there are 12 sub-categories corresponding to each second order code.
The first five codes (1-5) further define the nature of the corporate disputes, while the latter seven (6-12) cover the resolution process. Nevertheless it was necessary to limit the hierarchy of data to three levels38 in order to avoid unnecessary complexity of final templates and ensure that every code is represented by a prominent and easily identifiable theme.
Referring back to the corporate dispute presented in appendix 3, table 3.2 provides an example of a final template of the dispute.
37 Template analysis cannot relate frequency to salience (King, 2004).
38 Level of detail recommended by King (2004).
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Table 3.2: Final Template Coding
Profile
Theme Brief Notes
1.2
Fist Order
Diversion Disputed transaction
1.2.2
Second Order
Diversion of Claims
Refusal to transfer money to a customer
1.2.2.4
Third Order
Unclear Rules The bank appealed the decision of the court claiming that the client‘s account had been frozen by tax authorities
1.2.2.12
Third Order
Litigation Court ruling was enforced by bailiffs who seized property of the bank
Such a template has been compiled for all disputes extracted from the Moscow Times articles pertaining to 1998 (79 templates) and 2006 (41 templates). All the codes have been entered into a spreadsheet and represent the data for descriptive statistics.
The reason behind not looking beyond the years in question stems from the fact that the study focuses on the investigation of the change in perception. Two clearly defined ‗snap shots‘ of the environment at different points in time will act as an accurate measure of the change in perception provided the ‗snap shots‘ are representative vis-à-vis reported material published in the respective periods under consideration. A year‘s worth of reported material on corporate disputes is considered representative of the newspaper‘s coverage for a particular period because of the large number of articles meeting the selection criteria (175 articles representing 1998 data and 115 articles pertaining to 2006). In this respect, expanding the data set is considered unnecessary because an accurate enough representation of the environment can be constructed on the bases of the available data. Additionally, it is important to note that some larger disputes in the study took longer than a year to resolve. However, these disputes were not followed through for two reasons:
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1. Larger disputes tend to be resolved in distinct stages which, if match the respective period of reporting, are included in the study. The net impact of these disputes on perception is less than reported material on smaller disputes because the latter are a more significant characteristic of collected data.
2. Some particularly large disputes span over a considerably longer period of time than a year (e.g. Yukos dispute began in 2003 and was not resolved until 2007). In this case, the systematic characteristic of the data needs to be maintained through a clear cut-off point even though some data is inevitably lost as a result. The justification for this lies in the comparative dimension of the final data set that forms the foundation for conclusions about the change in perception with reference to concrete stages of the development of corporate governance in Russia.
3.2.4 Semi-Structured Interviews
The purpose of having two sources of data is not so much to increase generalisability of the findings, but to improve credibility of the study. According to Goldkuhl (2004), ―For a pragmatist … triangulation of sources and methods, are ways to escape a too large dependence on informants‟ conceptions‖ and thus the issue about the nature/quality of inferences is addressed.
Unlike newspaper articles, interviews address the research questions directly. The purpose of semi-structured interviews in the context of this research is to triangulate the coded data39 as well as to investigate the status of the Moscow Times articles with regard to the accuracy and influence of published material.
Dispute-related questions (see appendix 4, questions 1-3) have been covered by interviews with the newspaper reporters. The coding profiles described above have been created for all disputes covered in such interviews. Constructed templates were then compared for consistency with the templates informed by
39 It is important to be sure that no major corporate dispute has been omitted from the coded data and indeed the reported material in general.
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newspaper articles. Such a comparison is regarded as central to the task of improving the quality of data, inferences and credibility of the findings.
In order to capitalise on the richness of interview data, all interviews with the Moscow Times reporters have been screened repeatedly for additional information, particularly with regard to more general comments on the changing nature of the rule of law. Although, these comments are excluded from the formal analysis, they played an important role in setting the scene for a comprehensive discussion of the findings.
Questions about the Moscow Times reports (see appendix 4, questions 4a and 4b) were analysed separately. The key themes here had been predetermined at the questioning stage and refer to the levels of accuracy, independence and influence of the newspaper‘s coverage of corporate disputes in the country. Due to the fairly specific nature of the questions and a limited number of interviews, it was possible to attribute all relevant transcript extracts to the specified themes (see chapter 4 section 5). The purpose of this is to strengthen credibility of the archival data by analysing comments about the articles‘ accuracy and influence.
Original Contribution
This study strives to analyse the changing nature of the corporate governance environment in Russia. The unique element here is the focus on corporate disputes as a determinant of the institutional infrastructure in the country.
Inferences about the change in the environment are informed by a detailed comparison of agency based conflicts and methods of their resolution pertaining to 1998 and 2006. Such a comparison of corporate disputes has not been carried out before.
Methodologically, this study relies on the Moscow Times archives as a main source of data. This source has been used in the study of corporate governance in Russia (Fox & Heller, 2000). However, this investigation not only adds a comparative dimension but also attempts to improve the quality of inferences by
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employing template analysis as a technique for a structured, yet holistic, examination of the large data set. Thus, useful amendments to existing frameworks are suggested while the vital call to investigate the role of the institutional construct in the discipline of corporate governance (Iwasaki, 2007) is addressed.
In summary, this study offers original contribution to knowledge because it:
uses corporate disputes as a unit of analysis
provides a comparative dimension to the study of institutional environment relies on uniquely constructed archival data
proposes useful amendments to the existing theoretical frameworks
investigates the way template analysis can be employed in the study of corporate governance.
The practical, theoretical and methodological innovations used in this study contribute to the understanding of the system of corporate governance in Russia leading to greater awareness of the environment while establishing strategically important partnerships. Original contribution of this study is further discussed in chapter 5 (5.4).
Limitations
This study has a number of limitations that need to be acknowledged and addressed through a vigilant analysis and cautious conclusions. This chapter concludes with a summary of these limitations and steps taken to overcome some of them.
The Moscow Times Articles:
Between 1998 and 2006 the Moscow Times employed several editors The physical layout of the newspaper and its website changed
The situation with regard to the freedom of media in Russia changed Newspaper articles can be rather subjective
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A dispute covered in the newspaper might have a continuation which is not necessarily covered in the subsequent issues within the two years of the study
Some disputes are covered repeatedly (across a number of articles), whereas others are mentioned only in a single issue
There is a difference between the number of disputes that actually occurred and those that were reported in the newspaper.
In order to overcome these limitations a number of steps have been taken:
1. Some of the limitations above were addressed though interviews with the reporters of the Moscow Times. The interviews revealed that changes of the editors and format of the newspaper did not have a noticeable impact on the reporters‘ work, particularly in the business section. Additionally, as discussed later in chapter 4 section 5, the growing concern about the freedom of speech in Russia did not apply to the newspaper because of its relatively limited readership.
2. Opinionated articles are included in the data set, because they also determine perceptions about the environment. However, conclusions drawn from the data accept the bias in favour of foreign investors. This point is discussed further in chapter 4, section 5.
3. It is understood that the selected corporate disputes might receive more coverage outside the time scale of this study. Nevertheless, it is still reasonable to disregard this coverage in order to maintain a clear comparative dimension.
4. The intensity of coverage (number of articles per dispute in a given year) has been included in the formal analysis in order to address the associated limitation.
5. The limitation connected with how fully the newspaper represents the environment has been partially addressed through confining the major conclusions to the change in perception.
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Interviews:
The interview guide was still at the stage of development when the initial interviews took place
Some reporters had difficulty recalling corporate disputes from 1998 and consequently, more general questions about the rule of law dominated such discussions.
In addressing limitations connected with the quality of interview data, the following steps were taken:
1. The brief did not refer to any particular disputes and the reporters were asked to recall the most representative disputes.
2. The reporters were asked only about the disputes that took place at the time they were working for the newspaper.
3. The list of questions (appendix 4, excluding the probes), where possible, was sent well in advance of the actual interviews.
Analysis:
Content of constructed codes is descriptive in that it is the researcher‘s own account of the reported data.
In addressing this limitation, the content of the final templates (appendices 9a and 9b) is presented with the maximum degree of detail. Moreover, the process of constructing the templates described in the chapter was strictly adhered to.
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Chapter Summary
This chapter presented information about the philosophical stance of the researcher and explained the way in which data was collected and analysed. Here the concept of pragmatism was discussed in conjunction with key aspects of the data and template analysis. Additionally, original contribution was discussed in methodological terms. Finally, an outline of limitations and possible solutions was considered.
This chapter provided the framework (in the broadest sense of the word) within which the subsequent analysis and findings need to be considered. It is important to reiterate however, that this is a predominantly qualitative piece of research.
Hence, the numerous graphs presented in the next chapter are the constructed representations of the data set the primary purpose of which is to lay out the analysed material in a transparent and structured manner.
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