Important Philosophical Considerations

It should be noted that the way in which researchers select a methodology and make related methodological decisions depends very much on how instinctively and/or intuitively they approach knowledge advancement. In this context, the two most advanced research paradigms are “positivism” and “phenomenology” (Collis and Hussey, 2003; Saunders et al., 2003; Walsham, 1993). According to Saunders et al. (2009), research philosophy resonates with how the researcher thinks about knowledge development, which, in turn, affects the way that he or she undertakes the research.

3.3.1 Positivist and Phenomenological Reflections:

There are two main views on the nature of knowledge: the positivist paradigm and the phenomenological one. Easterby-Smith et al. (2002 p.29) described positivism as assuming that:

“…the social world exists externally, and that its properties can be measured through objective methods rather than being inferred subjectively through sensation, reflection or intuition”.

Phenomenology, on the other hand, emphasises understanding human experiences in context- specific settings (Amaratunga et al., 2002).

3.3.2 Positivism:

Positivism has been identified as an epistemology that advocates the application of the method of natural science to the study of social reality (Bryman, 2001). The paradigm has also been cited as the “traditional”, “empiricist” or “experimental” paradigm. The epistemological realist contends that the world is “knowable” and that theories can actually describe reality. According to Outhwaite (1987), the most important task of the researcher is to show the existence of an explanatory structure in the real domain. The positivist philosophy embraces an ontological assumption that sees “reality” as being external and objective (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002).

Rationally, it takes the philosophical position of a physical or natural science, with the end result being a law-like generalisation (Saunders et al., 2003; Remenyi et al., 1998). Consequently, this philosophical approach in relation to management research is mostly associated with quantitative methods and quantitative data collection. The researcher, in this

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instance, progresses from theory to data, and tries to explain the causal relationships between variables (Saunders et al., 2003; Johnson and Duberley, 2000). It is also notable that the researcher is independent of what is being researched, and human interest is extraneous, with general approach becomes structured by its disposition.

3.3.3 Phenomenology:

This philosophical approach is closely related to understanding human behaviour and actions (Collis and Hussey, 2003). It originates from the Greek words “phenomenon” and “logos”, and has been linked with the study of organisations and people. According to Creswell (2003), it has been cited as a constructivist, interpretive, naturalistic, post-positivist and post- modern perspective. It supports an attempt to understand social reality in terms of the exact way in which it has been established in people’s experiences throughout the course of their life, including through business or employment within organisations and nations.

Phenomenology broadly tries to understand a particular phenomenon by recreating the meaning that people assign to it (Walsham, 1993). It thus highlights the importance, and the acknowledgement, of different constructs, and the meaning that people place on their experiences in their entire life and business. According to Easterby-Smith et al. (2002), it consists of a comprehensive explanation of how and why people perceive different experiences, instead of searching for external causes and fundamental laws to explain their behaviour.

The phenomenological approach is usually associated with enhancing existing theories and originating new ones. This means there may not be a need for a predetermined hypothesis, which may even be unsuitable, since the emphasis of the research may require changes as the research advances, bringing new findings (Saunders et al., 2003). There are three main types of phenomenology, starting from the earlier work of Edmund Husserl; these are Realist, Constitutive and Existential phenomenology (Philosophy Basic.com, 2016). The current research adopts a constitutive phenomenological approach, which takes the visceral experience of a development as the beginning, and then seeks to extract the generic features of the experience. This has involved a review of the literature relating to the barriers to, and enablers for, sustainable packaging, as the starting point of the study, and this has allowed the researcher to gain insights into the phenomena been studied. More specifically, the current research has sought to investigate the meaning that the three organisations in the study assign

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to the barriers to, and enablers for, sustainable packaging. Below is a summary of the major differences between the two approaches (see Tables 4 and 5).

Table 4- Positivist vs Phenomenology

Positivist Paradigm

 Mostly quantitative data  Large sample used

 Concerned with hypothesis testing  Data are highly specific and precise  Artificial location

 Reliability is high  Validity is low

 Generalises from sample to population

Deduction (Quantitative) Emphasis

 Scientific principles  Moving from theory to data  The collection of quantitative data  Highly structured approach

 The necessity to select samples of sufficient size in order to generalise a conclusion

 Application of control to ensure validity of data  The operationalisation of concepts to ensure validity

of data

 Researcher independence of what is being researched  Need to explain causal relationships between

variables

Phenomenological Paradigm

 Mostly qualitative data  Small samples used

 Concerned with generating theories  Data are rich and subjective  Natural location

 Reliability is low  Validity is high

 Generalises from one setting to another

Induction (Qualitative) Emphasis

 Gaining an understanding of the meanings humans attach to events

 Close understanding of the research context  The collection of qualitative data

 Less concern with the need to generalise

 More flexible structure to permit changes of research emphasis as the research advances

 A realisation that the researcher is part of the research process

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Table 5. – Positivist vs Phenomenology using various elements

Elements Positivism Phenomenology

The Observer Human Interest Explanation Concepts Sampling Unit of Analysis Research Progress Generalisation Must be independent Should be irrelevant Must demonstrate causality

To be operationalised to support measurement Large number, randomly selected

Should be reduced to simplest terms Through hypothesis and deduction Through statistical probability

Part of what is being observed Is the main driver

Aims to increase general grasp of the situation Should incorporate stakeholder perspectives Small No. of cases, chosen for specific reason May include complexities of the whole situation

Gathering rich data from ideas induced Through theoretical abstraction

(Adapted from Easterby-Smith et al. (2002)).