Ethics and Relationships

3.5.1 Relationship with the stakeholders

Coghlan and Brannick (2005) suggested that for a researcher employed within the case study company at a middle rank it would be important to monitor the relationship with the sponsor who provides permission and primary access throughout the project. The sponsor grants permission to take study leave, to access documentary information, to use organizational material for research etc. At the same time the sponsors are the directors of the company who are in senior managerial positions. The researcher recognises therefore the need to work at maintaining this relationship as the continuation of the research project may depend on it. This may become particularly difficult if it emerges that the sponsor is a source of problems within the organisation.

This is particularly relevant for this research since it was established in the literature review that the owner or the family owned SME is likely to greatly impact the development of or lack of Market Orientation in the firm. At the same time this research was being conducted with the permission of the owner and because of the owner’s professed interest in undertaking change to adopt Market Orientation across the company. This research had been permitted also because the firm sees a benefit in the conclusion of the research in that there are likely to be pointers to the level of Market Orientation of the firm. It was equally important to manage the relationships with the executives, subordinates, organizational members, customers and peers. The researcher utilised recommendations such as identifying stakeholders, working on the comfort zones, networking and making deals in order to maintain these relationships.

3.5.2 Responsibilities and Ethical Considerations

Case study methodology conducted using data collection methods such as participant observation and open ended interviews raised ethical dilemmas regarding confidentiality vs. sharing of information to obtain opinions, interpreting the information provided based

on investigators’ experiential judgement but at the same time avoiding bias and maintaining a neutral stance as far as possible etc. It was important to conduct the research without preconceived notions and prejudices. These dilemmas including issues around how to attain some sense of objectivity and more beyond a personal perspective by testing assumptions and interpretations had to be considered carefully before embarking on fieldwork. The investigator was mindful of some ways of ensuring validity of data including negotiating access with authorities and participants, promising confidentiality of information, identity and data, getting permission to use documentation that was produced for other purposes, keeping good faith by showing you are someone who can be trusted and always checking with others to minimise misunderstandings.

Elmes et al., (1995) recommended the following requirements of data collection and it was attempted to follow these in the project:

· To identify oneself; who you are, where you are from, what you are trying to do or find out.

· To develop an atmosphere of trust so that people will disclose accurate information by assuring confidentiality regarding any information about participants acquired during the process and offering the right to withdraw from the interview

· To be have a clear specification of what it is to be observed, a clear procedure for recording your observation.

For instance during the open ended interviews conducted by the Researcher it was made clear at the outset that any information provided will be considered and analysed from a research perspective. It would be kept confidential and none of this would be revealed to the Directors. Some of the information obtained in these interviews as quoted in the chapter on observations and analysis demonstrates that the interviewees trusted the researcher and were open and forthcoming in their responses. Being viewed as an outsider helped to maintain confidentiality and gain trust and respect of staff as well as senior management. In terms of identity of the business, the names and some details in this report have been altered to maintain confidentiality regarding the actual identity of the case study company. The owner was aware and supportive of the research because it started as part of the partnership scheme with the university under which the employment was also offered.

It was accepted that there would be some limitations in terms of how much the researcher would be able to get access and time of the Directors rather than being expected to get on with the day to day job as part of the employment. Also some staff would still be cautious in answering the researcher because of the fact that it was a dual role alongside being employed and being based at the Head Office. But ultimately this dual role was right at the heart of the research and therefore viewed more as a unique characteristic and unique opportunity to test a theory and contribute then to develop it further in a very hands-on manner. It did provide unprecedented access to the people working in the case study company, processes undertaken and culture of the organisation.

It was recognised that this research design is not just a matter of being an employee for three months or so, keeping a diary and analysing the results at a distance at a later date. It involved observing, participating, talking, checking, understanding and making interpretations. Time on site was required to gain trust, to establish rapport and foster insights that are the trade mark of participant observation and open ended interviews. There were likely to be issues of appropriate frameworks for viewing and understanding the data. By liberally using documentary evidence such as emails, reports etc. it was possible to overcome the danger of researcher’s bias based on observations and interpretations creeping into the analysis of the report. It was felt that whilst these shortcomings cannot be avoided it is possible to be mindful of them and thereby minimising the margin of bias.

There are questions about how to write up such a research project to make it relevant to the wider community. It was attempted to analyse the data with links made to the literature reviewed around each theme in order to contribute to theory building. Ultimately the aim was to incrementally add to the knowledge available in this area and make observations based on several business units within the organisation to avoid the risk of exceptions being generalised.