Ethical considerations

Management research needs to consider ethical questions, as possibly confidential information is gathered, analysed and from which conclusions are drawn. Results of research may be used and eventually published; therefore the researcher needs to be aware of his or her responsibility. Bias may influence the researcher while performing interviews or analysis. It is also possible that informants try to influence results of the study for political or power-related reasons. Easterby-Smith et al. (1991) suggest two aspects to bear in mind: first to be aware that power and political issues are significant, even if it is not clearly evident and second to have clarity of purpose and flexibility in handling problems. Also it is indispensable to safeguard confidentiality during and after completion of the research, so that any disclosure of confidential information, especially the names of the research participants, must be avoided. Further it is necessary to explain the purpose of the research project to the participants, preferably in advance of their voluntary participation. For this reason, a written explanatory statement is suggested (Tharenou et al., 2007). In my research project, confirmation of confidentiality and the explanation of the purpose of the research project were given verbally by the managing director of the company to the group of designated participants on November 11th, 2013 (see 3.6.1). A short introduction to the topic of the research was as well mailed to the participants with the interview guideline, when the interview was scheduled (see annex 1). Confirmation of confidentiality was given again by me, before the interview started and time was given for asking any questions by the participants.

It is acknowledged by Easterby-Smith et al. (1991) that political issues and power relationships can raise significant ethical issues in research within organisations. The fact that my research was a local knowledge case was very helpful, in that the interviewees and I have longstanding and mutually trustful work relationships that

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facilitated open discussion. Secondly, I believe that hierarchical levels were not an issue, since all of the interviewees occupied a hierarchically superior position in the organisation to my own.

For the research project, there were several steps undertaken to comply with ethical guidelines. First, a discussion with one of the managing directors about conducting the interviews in the company took place in October 2011 and again in October 2013, just before the interview phase was to begin. The aim and objectives of the research were explained and the planned procedure as well as further use of gathered data was elaborated. After that, permission for the laid out plan was given. In a second step, the research project was explained briefly to potential interviewees by the managing director and it was highlighted that participation was voluntary and anonymity granted. In a further step, potential interviewees were called and asked if they were willing to participate and whether they had a need for more detailed information about the research, the procedure and other issues. Questions were answered at this stage and an appointment for each interview made. Brief research project information and an interview outline were handed out about a week before the interview was scheduled. The project information included the nature and purpose of the study and its method, expected benefits of the study, information about confidentiality and anonymity and the use of gathered data, together with contact information for the author (Thomas, 2011). At the beginning of each interview, the interviewee again got the chance to ask questions for clarification and it was explained that anonymity is ensured. Following each interview, a written transcript of the interview was provided to the interviewee as a matter of course. In addition to that benefits for participants might be offered, for example to give a summary of the overall results (Tharenou et al., 2007). An offer of the summarised results of the analysis of the interviews was accordingly made, which was seen as an appropriate benefit and also reinforced transparency.

For the employee survey, confirmation of confidentiality was provided in the email to which the survey was attached. The same email explained the nature of the research project and the broader issue of organisational readiness for change. Responses from the employee survey were listed in an Excel worksheet without the

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identity of the employees. By these means, confidentiality was safeguarded by the HR department that mailed out the survey (see 3.6.2).

3.9 Concluding summary

In the course of this chapter, the philosophical underpinnings of the research were considered and my adoption of the perspective of a constructivist was clarified and justified (3.2). Based on that foundation, the research design (3.3), featuring a qualitative approach and inductive interpretation of data, was elaborated. The choice of a case study approach as a research strategy (3.4) was explained and justified on the basis of the specifics of the research project. The research was designed as a single case study with a local knowledge case of Stadtwerke Bielefeld as the unit of the study (3.4.1). Advantages and disadvantages of case studies and aspects of reliability and validity (3.4.2) were discussed. The data collection procedure (3.5) that comprised a series interviews with managers (3.6.1) and an employee survey (3.6.2) was explained. The sampling of interviewees (3.6) was addressed by identifying key informants (resulting in a 100% sample of the key informants) and a simple random sample of non-management employees for the employee survey were explained. The strategy for data analysis (3.7) was presented with a content analysis and the development of a coding frame. Finally, ethical issues (3.8) were considered and my response to these discussed. In the following chapter, the data analysis and the findings are presented and considered.

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