Data Collection

When the research problem has been defined and the type of research has been selected it is time to decide which technique for collection of data that is going to be used. In this section the different numbers of techniques will be presented, as well as the specific choice for this study.

4.4.1 Classification of Data & Data Collection Method

The data collected can be classified as primary versus secondary data. Primary data is gathered and assembled specifically for the research project at hand. (Zikmund, 2000) Secondary data has allready been collected for purposes other than the problem at

on different subjects. Secondary data can be collected more quickly and more cheaply than primary data and has shown to be useful when performing exploratory studies since it saves the researcher from “reinventing the wheel”. However, what is worth remembering is that secondary data has been collected for another purpose and thereby might not meet the needs of the researcher or the data might be out-of-date. (Zikmund, 2000)

According to Yin (1994) there are six sources of information to rely on when performing a case study. The sources are complementary and a good case study should thereby include as many sources as possible. The sources of information are: • Documentation: documentary information includes, written reports from events

and communication, administrative documents (proposals, progress reports, internal documents), formal studies/evaluations of the site under investigation, and articles from mass media.

• Archival Records: organizational records, maps and charts, lists of names, survey data previous collected, and personal records such as diaries and calendars.

• Interviews: there are different forms of interviews, such as open-ended interview, focused interview, and survey. Open-ended interviews are performed in an conversational manner. The respondent may provide facts, opinions about events, and own insights about occurrences. With the focused interview the main purpose is to confirm facts that already have been established and not ask questions of a broader nature. The interview last for a short period of time, for about an hour, and the questions derives form a protocol. Finally, the survey implies more structured questions.

• Direct Observation: visits to the case study site which enables direct observations, through attending at meetings, in classrooms, or by visiting the factory.

• Participant Observation: a special mode of observation where the observer can participate in events being studied, such as being a resident in a neighborhood being studied.

• Physical Artifacts: a technological device, an instrument, a work of art, or some other physical evidence that may be collected or observed when making a visit at the case study site. (Yin,1994)

In this study, both primary and secondary data has been used. The secondary data about CRM systems was collected from external sources, such as web sites and sales brochures of CRM suppliers. Furthermore, knowledge was also obtained from internal sources, in form of oral information from the CRM Product Manager at Jeeves Information Systems and from their sales brochures. In order to get basic knowledge about the study objects, external data was collected from the Internet.

The primary data was collected through interviews with people having good knowledge about the study objects as well as people being familiar with the CRM approach and CRM systems.

Consequently, the information sources used in this study are documentation and interviews. Documentation was primly used to gather secondary data, while the interviews were used to gather primary data. The interviews conducted can be considered to be of opened-ended nature. This since the interviews were performed in a conversational manner and the respondent could answer in his own words.

When performing an interview there are several approaches to choose between, such as:

• Personal interviews • Telephone interviews • E-mail

In this study primly personal interviews were conducted, implying face-to-face contact with the respondent. Telephone interviews and e-mail correspondence was also utilized to a certain extent. Personal interviews showed to be most appropriate since the research area demands complex questions and lengthy interviews. In addition, personal interviews offer many advantages. It’s easy for the investigator to notice if the respondent doesn’t seem to understand the question or seem hesitant about answering, in this case he or she can further explain the meaning of the matter. If the answers given by the respondent are too brief the investigator also has the possibility to ask for a more detailed description. Furthermore, with personal interviews the likelihood of receiving answers to all question increases. Finally, an advantage is that face-to-face interviews allows usage of visual aids, which was utilized during the interviews conducted in this study. (Zikmund, 2000)

The personal interviews conducted with Company A are similar to focus group interviews that involve small groups with 6-10 participants. This since the interviews conducted with Company A involved three respondents, a head respondent (the Marketing Manager) and two more respondents (the Logistics Manager and the IT Manager). The reason why there were several respondent was to secure correct answers to the questions since the head respondent wasn’t familiar with all areas covered during the interview. The answers given by the head respondent could, whenever necessary, be complemented with additional information from the other respondents. However, the interviews conducted with Company A can’t entirely be considered to be of focus group kind, this since the number of participants were less and since the purpose with the group wasn’t to encourage a discussion between the respondents.

The interviews conducted with Company A and Company B were carried out in two rounds. The purpose with the first interview was to obtain knowledge about the marketing approach at the companies, in order to determine whether they were suitable as study objects. The purpose was also to collect information about the companies sales processes and brief information about their CRM requirements. In order to receive information about the sales process at Company A, I made telephone interviews with two other respondents, the Export Manager and the Service Manager. In this case telephone interviews were suitable since the questions weren’t’

fast way of collecting data and the quality of the data obtained may be comparable to the data collected during personal interviews. (Zikmund, 2000) In addition, it was more suitable since a telephone interview is less time consuming than a personal interview. Telephone interviews were also utilized to clarify answers to questions asked during the personal interviews. For this purpose e-mail correspondence was also utilized.

By performing the literature study I had obtained knowledge about the activities involved in a sales process. Based on that knowledge I further developed the sales processes described by the companies. During the second interview I presented the further developed sales processes and together we discussed what adjustments that had to be made. Then, the final constitution of the sales processes could be settled and subsequently the CRM requirements could be identified.

As stated earlier in this chapter the retailer case involve two retailers, Mr Jan Stenberg and Mr Pär Heed, this since it’s preferable to use different sources when collecting data. A personal interview was conducted with Mr Jan Stenberg. However, due to the time constraints of the study the interview with Mr Pär Heed was conducted using e- mail correspondence. This implies that the data collected from Mr Pär Heed is much more brief and only works as a complement to the interview performed with Mr Jan Stenberg.

The procedure of the interviews

The personal interviews took place at the companies’ offices. During the interviews I was taking notes and I also used a tape recorder. This way misunderstandings could be ruled out and the interviews be well documented. The interviews were typed down on a computer and analyzed shortly after the interviews in order to achieve the best result possible.

Prior to the first interview with Company A, Company B, and with Mr Jan Stenberg the interview guide was sent to the respondents in order for them to get more prepared for the interview. However, prior to the second interviews with Company A & B only a brief description of the questions was sent to the respondents. This since the interview guide developed was very extensive and probably only would make the respondents more confused since many concepts needed to be further explained.