Data Analysis

Based on the procedure undertaken within Appendix 16, the data analysis process is described as follows. As previously outlined, given that the boundary of the case study was the Wairarapa wine cluster, by implication, data collected via triangulated approaches among a sample of vineyards meant they were what might be termed the ‘actors’ within the boundary of a single 'instrumental' case study. The data analysis did not set out to consider ‘cross-case’ analysis (e.g. across sectors rather than firms) in the true sense of the term. Richness of data against the core themes identified from the review of the literature in the context of the study’s objective was the over-riding consideration guiding the analysis undertaken rather than numerical mentions of the times that themes were raised (Oeppen & Jamal, 2014). The transcribing was undertaken by the researcher to maintain control of the findings and to ensure that anything was not missed out of the final transcripts (Miles & Huberman, 1994).

Data was manually coded around key themes identified first from those derived from a review of the underpinning literature. After this stage, an in-depth search through the transcripts and the triangulation process was used where possible – this included the primary (observation) and secondary data (newspapers, websites and other media releases) forms of triangulation. Not only was the geographical boundary of the

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Wairarapa important but also the conceptual boundary i.e. themes to be explored as derived from the review of the literature. Only certain topics were explored and able to be coded at the primary data gathering stage (allowing for probing on those issues) so the study did not become unfocused and address tangential issues; plus to avoid respondent fatigue. Also affecting the coding was the nature of the vineyards participating in this study; this meant that triangulation was not always possible and this explicitly affected the analysis process undertaken as previously described. In the boutique vineyards, there was no cellar door and particular firms had one decision- maker with certain casual staff who would not be in a position to comment on facets of this study of a strategic nature or only one person did everything so by definition there was nobody else to talk to. Websites and secondary sources like newspaper articles were very limited for certain firms and so again, triangulation was difficult and data could not be coded. This information is summarised in Appendix 17.

The system of analysis involving splitting the findings into key themes and converting the data into information allows researchers to maximise credibility in their analysis (Bansal & Corley, 2011). There is no single 'correct' method to undertake this e.g. manually or using an electronic approach such as NVivo, since more importantly, an audit process is evident. The key themes were pre-determined from the literature review with some minor modifications from the pilot study. The previously mentioned triangulated data created a holistic picture of the issues being investigated (Ketchen et

al., 2013). The use of the NVivo software was considered but was deemed unnecessary

for this study. The number of actors in the case study was manageable plus the content analysis was not quantitative i.e. no percentages of re-occurring themes were being analysed; rather a qualitative system of analysis whereby key themes were explored and discussed using a more in-depth subjective approach (Smith et al., 2012)15.

When studying small business relationships, Fuller & Lewis (2002) discuss how their data (using a case study methodology) was manually coded using iteration-based

15

As the number of actors (firms) was small (n = 14), expressing the number of reoccurring themes as percentages would have been skewed as the difference between 1 versus 7 out of the 14 firms stating a particular theme would have had drastic impacts on the percentage. Such information was expressed as proportions to maintain realism within the data analysis process.

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methods to draw out themes from the data. The authors also used iteration by revisiting transcripts and triangulating data with other primary methods. A similar approach was adopted in this study whereby manual coding started with the key themes derived from the underpinning literature (and the pilot study) and then moved to iteration to build on these via sub-themes. This process lasted around 3 months whereby each transcript was annotated in respect of main and sub-themes, plus, where possible, compared to data in field notes. This continued on an on-going basis as each interview was undertaken and transcribed so annotation took place on the next transcription and compared with the previous one. This continued and became more in-depth each time, i.e. when the 14th transcript was annotated, it was also compared to the previous 13. A large amount of paperwork and time-consuming analysis was undertaken over the 3 months.

This iterative process meant that while the main themes derived from the literature remained constant, sub-themes changed through the iterative process with some issues arising and others being merged as the interviews progressed. At certain stages in the iterative process, sub-themes became what may be termed 'third-level' sub-themes, i.e. the sub-themes branched out into a further layer. It also meant that dated versions of transcripts were destroyed and new ones reprinted since all the changing annotations and notes made it difficult to record what information was important and what was not as each individual transcript was highlighted, re-highlighted and differently in parts. It was also important to destroy old copies of annotated transcripts to avoid them getting mixed up with the current versions (Thorpe, 2014). It was decided that only two layers of analysis would be utilised although coincidentally, each core theme had only 2 sub- themes. By a continual iterative process of refining sub-themes, key issues could be drawn from the data while at the same time an audit trail would be evident to anyone that understood the case study research approach; this was despite the final coding appearing more simple than the actual 3 month process actually reflected. Part of the iterative process involved discussing the findings with a family member since she was familiar with case study research via her own PhD studies in nursing; but at the same time, nursing was seen as far enough removed from this topic that a fresh pair of eyes could view the process followed. The potential bias of seeking the perspective of a family member was understood but considered of limited impact given the whole idea was to offer constructive criticism via a new perspective; this would be appropriate in

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any qualitative study of this nature e.g. involving co-researchers offering their own perspective in a larger research team.

The complete analysis was undertaken by the researcher. The process undertaken suggested that if a person unfamiliar with this field of research could follow the thought process via this iterative coding process (a nurse albeit someone familiar with case study research), then in principle, it demonstrated via the final version of the process that an audit trail was evident. Anyone familiar with the proper use of case study research would also be able to follow to approach. An example of a final version of a coded transcript is shown is Appendix 1816. The robustness of the methodological process could be justified to outside parties unless of course such persons did not fully understand the subtleties of case study analysis given the debate in the literature on how this should be undertaken.

Important data could have been overlooked in the process of the thematic content analysis due to the depth of data from various sources (Bryman, 2012). This was minimised by coding and annotating the transcripts and comparing sources of data, e.g. the field notes for key information (Miles & Huberman, 1994). A further drawback of the thematic content analysis is that interviewers can influence the themes that are brought out of the interview to the extent that the data is skewed towards self-directed topics (Lloyd, 2011). This study opted for the pre-determined themes style of analysis whereby existing themes and sub-themes were searched for as they had been determined by earlier sources i.e. the literature review and the pilot interviews (Buchanan & Bryman, 2007). Whilst this allows a planned approach to maximise the time spent interviewing, it can become counter-productive when interviewers use probing techniques excessively to shift the findings in a direction they wish (Skålén, 2009). To avoid this concern, the methodology built upon previous studies and only used probing techniques if the interviewee misunderstood the question and/or they gave short and non-descriptive answers requiring a need to gain further insight (Zikmund et al., 2013).

16

All hand-written coded transcripts were shown to the supervisor. The information in Appendix 18 is a typed version of the coded transcript for clarity and neatness in comparison to a hand-written version.

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