Evaluation and Choice of Research Method for this Study

To further justify the choice of a qualitative research strategy, different qualitative and quantitative research methods were evaluated to determine the most appropriate for addressing the research questions posed in this study.

Different versions of trust game experiments have been applied to the study of trust. Such trust games are designed based on game-theoretic rationality to investigate the influence of trust on decision making (see for example Fetchenhauer and Dunning, 2009; Evans and Krueger, 2010). In the study by Evans and Krueger (2010) for instance, a trust game experiment was designed to test the extent to which trust decisions depended on potential risks (assessed through egocentric costs and benefits) and probability of reciprocity

Page | 89 (derived from a party’s temptation to defect). Risk and temptation were orthogonally manipulated with two levels of risk as a single index (cost/benefit): low risk (cost 5/benefit 15) and high risk (cost 15/benefit 5) alongside temptation levels that give different payoffs. Online participants were recruited to complete 10 rounds of the game against simulated partners, which revealed that trust was significantly influenced by risk and reciprocity.

Hartmann and Caerteling (2010) also used a choice-based conjoint experiment to evaluate the relative importance of price and trust in subcontractor procurement in construction. Main contractors were made to choose between four SCs - three known and one unknown - against two varying levels of different criteria: price, technical know-how, quality and cooperation. It was revealed that price was by far the main criterion for MCs’ preference followed by quality and cooperation with technical know-how being of least importance.

This application of trust-based experiments to trust research have not been devoid of any shortcomings. Hartmann and Caerteling (2010) acknowledged that the limited number of attributes and the assumption that choice decisions of participants are based on the same set of attributes remains a major shortcoming. Since the interest of this research was to explore within context, the richness and depth of the relationship between MCs’ SCM practices and trust dynamics rather than causal relationships between these two variables, it became clear that an experimental research design could not be adopted. Moreover, it would have been difficult under experimental conditions to explore such trust dynamics from both MC and SC perspectives within the context of an actual construction project.

Surveys were also given consideration as these have been used extensively in trust research. Trust measurement scales have been used to measure different levels of trust amongst construction practitioners (see Shek-Pui Wong and Cheung, 2004). Arriving at a single

Page | 90 measure that is capable of capturing the complex and multi-dimensional nature of inter- organisational trust is however difficult to achieve and these survey-type studies have often revealed that other contextual factors are likely to account significantly for variances in interrelationships between trust and other related variables (Laan, 2009). The rigid nature of such survey instruments also address trust as static rather than a dynamic concept; limiting a rich exploration of inter-organisational trust within context.

Given that the focus of this study was to undertake an in-depth exploration of the trust development process in relation to MCs’ SCM practices rather than an industry-wide measurement of trust levels, survey research was discounted as a suitable approach for the study. Additionally, it would have been practically and logistically difficult to obtain representative samples of both MC and SC personnel that constitute the organisational supply chain (MC’s supply chain) to complete the survey.

Narrative and phenomenological research were also discounted because these are more suitable for capturing the lived experiences of individuals and groups respectively. Due to the study’s focus on SCM practices and inter-organisational trust dynamics, the appropriate research design did not have to be centred only on the individuals but also other situational issues that could influence trust expectations. Narrative research was thus inappropriate because the objectives of this study did not aim to assemble a composite summary of inter- organisational trust but to understand how it develops within the context of different strategic SCM practices implemented by MCs. Since phenomenology does not permit considerations outside personal consciousness (Groenewald, 2004), it was not also considered appropriate for this study.

Page | 91 Grounded theory research was also given consideration due to its use of observations and interviews for inductive theory generation. However, since the study did not aim to generate a theory on SCM or inter-organisational trust (IOT) per se, but to provide a rich and in- depth account of how SCM strategies are implemented in practice by MCs and how this in turn influences inter-organisational trust development in their supply chain, it had to be discounted as the most favourable strategy.

Ethnographic research could also have been a potential strategy for exploring the SCM process during projects and how this influenced inter-organisational trust development. Yet, the dominant use of participant observation and the time-dependent nature of ethnographic studies made this option less feasible. The confidential nature of negotiations that ensues between MCs and their supply chain was also likely to present access difficulties as an active participant during any such meetings. Moreover, the study’s focus on gaining a better understanding of how different SCM strategies influence inter-organisational trust development would have demanded more than one ethnographic study. This would have been practically difficult to achieve within the limited timeframe allocated for the study. A case study approach was left as the most feasible option for undertaking the study.

4.4.1.1 Justification of Case study Research Strategy

Case study research is suitable when researchers intend to undertake in-depth exploration to uncover deeper meanings of a complex concept, such as in this case inter-organisational trust development in the MC’s supply chain. Scholars have advocated for the use of longitudinal-type studies to gain a better understanding of the inter-organisational trust development process (see for e.g. Laan, 2009). The relevance of context in the development of inter-organisational trust has often been suggested from quantitative studies (see for e.g. Laan, 2009). Bijlsma-Frankema and Costa (2005) have thus argued that the context within

Page | 92 which inter-organisational relationships are embedded should explicitly be taken into account when studying inter-organisational trust development. Case study research therefore provides that avenue to study the inter-organisational trust development process in the supply chain over a period of time, within the context of the MC’s supply chain during projects. It is also the most suitable given that boundaries between inter-organisational trust development and the context within which supply chain relationships are constituted can be blurred and intertwined.

Secondly, the opportunity to triangulate multiple sources of evidence using case study research (Proverbs and Gameson, 2008) was considered a distinct advantage. Methodological triangulation (different data collection methods) and data source triangulation (different sources of evidence) (see Yin, 2013) become possible through this approach. Methodological triangulation was achieved through the use of interviews, passive observations and document analysis. Data source triangulation was achieved through interviews with multiple personnel within the same category of relevant informants (i.e. MC and SC personnel) to assemble different perspectives on the same issues.

Furthermore, case study design is considered the most suitable for answering the predominantly ‘how’ research questions posed in this study. The main research questions on ‘how’ MCs manage their supply chains and ‘how’ inter-organisational trust develops in the MC’s supply chain are ideal questions for case study research. The research question on ‘what’ the functional consequences of trust are in the MC’s supply chain is also of a ‘how’ nature as it is concerned with ‘how’ trust perceptions in the supply chain influence behaviour and consequently any project performance outcomes.

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