Interviewing Approach

To gather the qualitative data for this thesis, an interviewing approach was selected. Since this research phase was aimed at collecting data from high-level individuals, ranging from Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to managing directors and managers, it was necessary to adopt an approach that would be appropriate for this group. According to Saunders (2012), interviews are more appealing than surveys or questionnaires, as long as the topic is interesting and relevant to the interviewee.

Moreover, Saunders highlights that this data collection method is especially attractive for managers as they will not need to write anything down during the interview, and also addresses the issue of them not wanting to provide company information to someone they do not know (ibid, 2012).

Another advantage of using interviews for this research is the value that can be added to the research by personal interaction rather than by conducting a survey (Saunders et al., 2012). As discussed in Chapter 2, there are differences within the luxury industry in terms of product categories or degree of luxury. There is also lack of agreement in the literature regarding the implications of CSR for the

industry and these differences within luxury. Therefore, personal interaction with executives and stakeholders is valuable, as it allows the capture of interviewee’s opinions and insights into the topics discussed (Bryman and Bell, 2011). The insights provided can add richness to the output of this research.

According to Saunders (2012), there are three main types of interviews: Structured, semi-structured and unstructured. Structured interviews use standard

questionnaires with identical questions. Structured interviews are generally selected when the responses will be quantified numerically. Semi-structured

interviews use a set of core themes to be explored but it is also possible to combine them with key questions. As part of semi-structured interviews it is possible to ask questions in response to what it is being said during the interview. Unstructured interviews are used to explore a topic in depth with no pre-determined questions but only an overall idea of the topic that will be explored.

For this research a semi-structured interviewing approach was selected. This approach is the most common style used in elite interviewing (Leech, 2002), a category which most of the interviewees for this research fall into. Structured interviews were ruled out as this thesis did not seek to translate interview output into numeric scores. Unstructured interviews were not selected either, as most interviewees were high-level executives with busy schedules, which would make this approach impractical. Using a semi-structured approach in this research is appropriate, given the complexity of CSR and brand value. Moreover, since this research seeks to gain a holistic understanding of this construct and its main determinants, using a semi-structured approach keeps the interviewee focused.

Similarly, such approach provides flexibility as it keeps the interview

conversational, as interviewees are free to comment on what is important to them (Fossey et al., 2002). A further consideration is that eight potential contributors to brand value, in addition to CSR, were identified; as highlighted at the end of

Chapter 2 (see Figure 5). One of the purposes of the qualitative interviews was to explore those topics. Therefore, a semi-structured interview ensures that those themes are covered within the limited time available for the interview. All these advantages make semi-structured interviews highly appropriate to gather

qualitative data for this thesis.

The following sections of this chapter present the steps followed to conduct the interviews, including the themes and questions that were asked.

3.2.4.1 Selection of Grand-Tour Question

As outlined below, the opening of the interviews was preceded by a grand-tour question. Grand-tour questions are especially useful at the beginning of the research; in this case an interview, as they allow interviewees to convey their expertise about a topic (Wood and Ford, 1993).

Topics for grand-tour questions can be related to time, space, activities or objects (Spradley, 1979). For this research, a grand-tour question was selected as the goal was to gain an understanding of CSR and brand value in luxury. More specifically, the grand-tour question was to ask interviewees to explain their feelings and thoughts on brand value. The purpose of asking such a question, was to encourage brand value experts to verbally convey their knowledge about this topic freely (Wood and Ford, 1993). This included their views on whether CSR was important for brand value in luxury (without having to ask about it). By doing so, they would be able to point-out from the very beginning what was relevant in terms of brand value without being influenced by the themes that would follow during the course of the interview.

3.2.4.2 Theme Selection

A list of potential determinants of brand value and themes was identified during the literature review phase of this project. These determinants and themes were:

• CSR

• Company size

• Consumer-based brand value

• Controlled distribution

• Counterfeiting

• COO

• Importance of brand valuations for their organizations

• Marketing

• R&D/Design

During the interviews, questions were derived from those themes, so that it would be possible to gain an understanding as to the relevance of each determinant of brand value. To allow for greater flexibility, interviewees were encouraged to depart from those themes and to highlight anything that could affect brand value in luxury. Any relevant themes emerging from the interviews were considered for addition to the previous list of themes. For example, control was not included in the initial themes but given its importance to the interviewees, it was added to the list. This approach is in line with Bryman and Bell (2011, p. 467), who highlight that qualitative research is flexible, and that “interviewers can depart significantly from any schedule or guide”. Thus, it is possible to respond to the direction taken by interviewees and follow-up on relevant topics mentioned during the interview (ibid, 2011).

3.2.4.3 Preparing the Interviews

According to Richards (1996), once an interviewee has accepted to participate in an interview, it is recommended to provide a brief synopsis of the research and the areas that would be discussed during the interview. Following Richards (1996), a week before each interview, interviewees were sent an email explaining what the project was about. In that email, as interviewees had previously requested, a list of questions was provided to them, so that it would be possible for them to come prepared to the interview.

Following there is a list of the questions sent to interviewees in advance of the interviews:

Grand-Tour Question:

• What are your general thoughts or feelings regarding brand value (from the company perspective)?

Other Aspects to Consider for the Interview:

• Does the company have any thoughts on sustainability?

• What are the main determinants/variables that create brand value for the company?

• Are any of those determinants less/more important?

3.2.4.4 Interviewing Process

The interviews were conducted between October 2013 and April 2014. Given the location and/or the schedules of some of the interviewees, 9 interviews were conducted via conference call. The calls were conducted from NYC, and the

interviewees’ locations were Monaco, Paris, Milan and NYC. The remaining 12 were conducted in person. All in-person interviews, which the exception of one that was conducted in Boston, took place in NYC.

The interviews lasted approximately one-hour each. Interview duration was

contingent with the time required to cover all the intended topics but also with the time each interviewee had available for the interview. This approach is consistent with Bryman and Bell’s position on interview length for qualitative research.

Bryman and Bell recognize that there is significant variation in how much time an interview should take and that generally all interviews are revealing, irrespective of their duration (Bryman and Bell, 2011).

To open the interviews the standard guidelines proposed in Saunders (2012) were followed. First, the interviewer thanked the interviewees for their participation.

Interviewees were reminded of: The purpose of the research; that the information provided would be anonymous; that they had a right not to respond to the

questions; that they could withdraw from the study at anytime and their

participation was voluntary; the format of the interview; and how the research would be used. Additionally, interviewees were asked for permission to record the

interview and to follow-up. Interviewees were also given the opportunity to ask about the research project in order to clarify any questions or concerns they could have. These guidelines are in line with the ethical approval obtained from the University to conduct this research. A copy of the ethical approval letter is

provided in Appendix B. After this introduction, the interview continued with the questions. Lastly, the interview was closed byasking the interviewees to recap upon which were the most and least important variables for brand value from everything that was discussed during the interview. The purpose of ending the interview in this way was to allow interviewees to have an opportunity to comment on any relevant aspects that may have been overlooked during the interview

(Bryman and Bell, 2011).

3.2.4.5 Interview Recording and Transcription

It is necessary to reemphasize that due to the secretive nature of the luxury industry, it was a priority of this research to avoid a potential conflict between interviewees from the industry and their employers. This approach had an impact on how interviewees were recorded and transcribed. 17 interviews were recorded.

The purpose behind recording the interviews was to make it easier to produce a transcript of what was discussed to aid analysis. Interview recording is mandatory for approaches such as conversation and discourse analysis (Bryman and Bell, 2011) but these approaches were not used in this thesis. Instead, the interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Under this approach, recording and transcribing interviews is useful to be aware of emerging themes (ibid, 2011). Further details on this analytical approach are provided in section 3.2.5.

It is important to note that in 4 instances, interviewees did not grant authorization to be recorded. This type of occurrence can be found in the literature, especially when interviewing elite interviewees (Aberbach and Rockman, 2002). In the 4 instances where it was not possible to obtain permission to record the interviews, extensive handwritten notes were taken during the interviews in accordance with

the approach conducted by Herps (2013). Then, following Britten (1994) and Pollock et al (2002), handwritten notes were transcribed immediately after each interview so that it was possible to capture the responses provided during those interviews and analyze them subsequently.