Development of coding schema and thematic coding

Thematic coding of interviews is a well-established approach when working with case studies, and when working with several independent cases where the aim is to identify commonalities (Flick, 2009, p. 330), as in uncovering management practices and risks. The process of identifying specific themes across cases and multiple interviews involves a series of interrelated steps. They specifically sought to determine changes to the community of place and

the actions of the mining MNE as described by all stakeholders in the process (see appendix 7.5 for an example of coding). It was hence possible to compare responses through the use of thematic coding, both on the individual mining MNE/Community of place cases as well as how other actors perceived the industry.

The thesis applies a deductive approach to the thematic coding, based on a predetermined series of grouped indicator words. The coding schema was developed based on the literature review on mining MNE/community relations and risk management as well as the initial 16 exploratory interviews. The aim was to identify words or categories of words (themes) that characterised the relationship between mining MNEs and communities—for example, “corruption,” which is a well-described problem in the literature on extractives and their impact on society (Bebbington et al. 2008), and “conflict resolution,” which has to do with community engagement programs (Franks & Cohen, 2012). In total there were some 162 words identified in the review as indicators that in one way or another impacted the relationship. The words were grouped into categories or themes that were used when doing the coding (see table 3 Coding theme).

In practice, this meant the inclusion of a series of criteria in the thematic coding that identified specific themes that are unique to the relationship between mining MNEs and communities. The theme structure produced a code that broke the interviews into one of five categories, namely social and cultural, economic, social-environmental, politics and governance practice, and the process of change itself. For example, answers related to domestic violence were placed under the social and cultural change theme, and the ones related to employment under the economic change theme.

Table 3. Coding scheme Category/

Theme

Change event codes described in the interview

Social and cultural

Corruption; domestic violence; sexual violence; substance abuse and trafficking; prostitution; change in social norms, disease; vehicle accidents; spills; controlled release; breakdown of traditional roles; changing

production/employment base; community cohesion; effects of cash economy; sense of place; community leadership; cultural heritage; disproportionate or particular effects on women, children; disabled; elderly; ethnic minorities;

Category/ Theme

Change event codes described in the interview

indigenous peoples

Economic Employment; compensation; training; profit flows; equitable distribution (across state/regional/local/ethnic/class/family or other lines); royalties and taxes; inflation/deflation: e.g. housing (ownership/rents); food; access to social services; demands on/investment in roads, rail, ports; procurement, quality, service areas

Social- environmental

Pollution (source of or sink for), air (dust); water (acid and metalliferous drainage, cyanide, tailings seepage, riverine and submarine disposal); soil; noise; scenic amenities; vibration; radiation; traffic; land; water (groundwater, river, ocean); mineral resources; cultural heritage; forest resources; consent and consultation in relation to resettlement; compensation; ties/relationship to land; equity; adequacy of resettlement housing and facilities; livelihoods; disruption (including exploration); frequency and timing; compensation Politics and

governance

Political; local governance; contracts; devaluation of currency; tax collection; conflict resolution; legislation; permits; courts impartiality; enforcement; protection; compensation; courts system

Process of change

Sovereign consent; community consent; development of programmes; monitoring; selection of alternatives and technologies; planning operational aspects; dispute resolution; company level grievance mechanisms;

accessibility; transparency; dialogue and engagement; third party mechanisms

Other Others

Software designed for qualitative and mixed methods research, including thematic coding, was used to do the coding itself (NVIVO, 2017). The coding schema was used as a checklist that would identify specific words (or their synonyms) in the transcribed interviews. Using this approach enabled the relatively easy identification of themes that the respondents gave evidence of but also enabled identification of when themes overlapped, for example, when communities talked about their ability to make an independent decision without the explicit or tacit interference of the MNE—for example, when the mayor of Kajaran said that:

“Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Company had a monopoly position in production and processing of copper and molybdenum. I estimated the change to the local community social and cultural life as positive 5 (Editor: From a scale from one (none) to five (huge)) and added that there couldn't be any other alternative response since Kajaran city got recognition as a result of Zangezur Cooper Molybdenum Company's activities. Kajaran city conditioned its future with the activities of the company.” (Interview in Kajaran, 2015)

This example illustrates an overlap between politics and governance of the town, its economic dependence on the mine and the activities that the mining MNE engage in. Another example came from Saravan village who stated when asked about the changes the culture in the village:

Due to the joint efforts of Saravan village municipality and Geoteam CJSC, the gas was supplied to the community through a newly built 8 km gas pipeline, which connected Gndevaz and Saravan villages. The company renovated the internal and external water lines and sponsored the establishment of a local dance group, repaired the water network, the network hadn’t been repaired for a long time and they built the water irrigation system, which was previously missing in Saravan village, currently the village needed additional financing for making the irrigation system accessible to villagers. (Interview in Saravan, 2015)

Here the villagers do not answer the question directly (at least initially) but talk about the impact Lydian International has had on village life. They chose to answer the question by referring to the impact on infrastructure and the “sense of place,” which has to do with the theme of social and cultural changes. The communities’ reference to their sense of belonging was an important finding, as the respondent later talked about whether the villagers got more or less involved in politics, saying:

It [decisions in the village] was conditioned by the company’s interests or other factors, but the company always strived to protect the interests of community members, the employees of the company were conducting meetings with the

community and were interested to find out what kind of projects the locals would like the company to implement, in order to develop Saravan village, end the need to migrate from the village, and create additional workplaces. (Interview in Saravan, 2015)

Through the thematic coding, it was thus possible to identify themes within the individual interviews and across different respondents, which could be utilised in the analysis in the individual papers (chapter 3-5).

1.4.2 Summary

As described above, there are a series of strengths and weaknesses when doing qualitative research using the methodology presented here. The weaknesses are closely associated with the methods used to collect the primary data and to what extent one can be certain that the responses are reliable. Doing fieldwork and using snowballing as the primary approach to getting access to respondents is common in research where there is low trust and lack of a well-functioning communication infrastructure, as in the case of conflict zones. While Armenia is not in direct conflict with its neighbours, there are enough violations of the ceasefire with Azerbaijan to characterise it as a frozen conflict. There are efforts in the research design to confront these built-in weaknesses, but there can always be criticism of whether the sources are credible enough and whether their claims have been rechecked through alternative sources with enough rigour. Especially when it comes to sensitive topics such as the impact of mining, one can be almost certain that competing narratives will exist and there will be claims which are either untrue or cannot be verified, which is illustrated by the first example in the thesis. The strengths lie in the transferability of how mining MNEs manage community risk across different firms and communities of place. By focusing the data collection on the risk event as identified in the themes and how the two main actors (mining MNEs and communities of place) react to these events, it is possible to make comparisons across different entities. While this approach does not mean it will be possible to generalise about mining MNEs’ community risk management outside the context of Armenia, it does provide insights into the nature of the mechanisms guiding the relationship.