Several philosophical positions can underpin a research position. Easterby-Smith et al., (2008) suggest that understanding the philosophical issues of the research helps to define and clarify research design. Ontological and epistemological philosophies have been identified as the two main perspectives of social research (Dainty, 2007). Figure 4.1, presents a summary of the underpinning methodological position of this study.
Figure 4 1: Research Methodological Position
105 4.3.1. Ontological consideration
Ontology involves the philosophical study of being and reality. It deals with different ways in which different things are thought to exit. According to Saunders et al., (2007) it is the researcher‘s claims and assumptions about the nature of reality. Bryman and Bell, (2007) have highlighted two broad ontological positions known as objectivism and constructivism. Objectivism is the philosophy of reality that encompasses the theory about the nature of the world and how we acquire knowledge of it. It is the act of referencing reality to determine the truth. In view of the above definition, objectivism will not be adopted to underpin the position of this research.
Constructivism, on the other hand, is about the perceptions and consequent actions and experiences of social actors (Bryman and Bell, 2007 and Saunders et al., 2007). It stresses that the only reality we can know is that which is represented by human thought; as a new conception of the world is mediated by prior-constructed realities that are taken for granted. Constructivism is concerned with the life experiences of individuals who are involved with the issue being researched, hence, it is the ontological position adopted for this research as it is appropriate and useful for identifying the critical success factors for effective knowledge sharing practices in the context of sheltered housing for elderly people. Constructionists assert that social phenomena and their meanings are continuously being achieved by social actors. Constructivism is allied to the epistemological position of interpretivism which stresses the necessity of exploring the subjective meanings motivating the actions of social actors so that a researcher can understand these actions (Saunders et al., 2007). Hence, the nature of the research requires an investigation of real-life situations by identifying the perception and experiences of human factors involved in the provision of floating support to the elderly living in sheltered housing. The activities and interaction between FSWs and ASSWs in the provision of floating support services is construed to be a social phenomenon where various and specific knowledge sharing activities are carried out by FSWs and ASSWs who have different perspectives on reality. Based on the research aim and questions, the
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social entity of this research is based on the perception and actions of the FSWs and ASSWs
4.3.2 Epistemological consideration
Epistemology is the core area of philosophy that deals with the question of knowledge acceptability and attempts to answer basic questions: ―how and what we know‖ (Dainty, 2007). It is the process of thinking about the nature of knowledge, its scope, validity and reliability of claims to knowledge. Easterby- Smith et al., (2007) describe it as a general assumption about the best way of enquiring into the nature of the world. It is an epistemological position that distinguishes true knowledge from false knowledge. Other writers have described it as an issue that is concerned with the question of what is considered acceptable knowledge in research (Saunders et al., 2007; Bryman and Bell, 2007). In social science research, epistemological positions are broadly grouped into positivism and interpretivism.
Positivism is an epistemological position which believes that the only reliable knowledge is that which is based on sense, experience and positive justification (Creswell 2009; Easterby-smith et al., 2007). It suggests that the real world is objective and there is a relationship between the world and our understanding and perception of it. The positivist approach is not appropriate and does not fit with the objectives of this research. On the other hand, Interpretivism is an epistemological position that believes that it is only through involvement and interpretation that the phenomenon can be fully understood. It is based on the assumption that knowledge of the phenomenon be obtained from involvement and experience. Interpretivists try to make sense of the world and understand human actions; they investigate how individuals view the world and engage in their daily activities (Creswell, 2009; Easterby-smith et al., 2007; Bryman and Bell, 2007; Saunders et al., 2007). The interpretivist approach is appropriate for this research study in light of the exploratory nature of the research questions. The researcher hopes to identify, investigate, and interpret the critical success
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factors of knowledge sharing that improves the provision of floating support services.
4.3.3 Axiological Consideration
The term ―Axiology‖ originates from the German word “Axiologie”, which simply means ―theory of value‖. It is a branch of practical philosophy which seeks to provide a theoretical account of the nature of values whether moral, prudential or aesthetic (Smith and Thomas, 1998). Axiological consideration can be located between 'value free' and value laden'. According to Resher (2004) axiology is related to the different ways in which value perceived by researchers. Thus, in considering axiology, the researcher reflects upon the role of her values in the research. It has been argued (Healy and Perry, 2000) that knowledge can be recognised and evaluated differently by each individual as individuals have their own subjective knowledge about reality. Some positivist supporters maintain that researchers must remain value-free as subsequent knowledge is objective and generalised to another context. Whereas in the phenomenological paradigm, research is seen to be value-laden and subjective (Sexton, 2007; Healy and Perry, 2000). Accordingly, it can be argued that the value of knowledge can be subjectively construed and assessed in many ways by the researcher, using experienced gained from the knowledge research under study.
The researcher holds a number of the values, including a belief that people strive towards self actualisation, behave in conjunction with their own self-concept and that all behaviour is goal directed. Since the research under study leans more towards constructivism and interpretivism, the value of the research will be subjective as reality has multiple perspectives from the stakeholders involved in the phenomenon under study. Consequently, reality can be subjectively construed and assessed in various ways by the researcher making the research 'Value added'. Hence, the axiological position taken by the researcher leans more towards the research being value laden and subjective in nature. To fully understand the knowledge sharing capability and its context it is necessary to reconcile the two sets of values associated with form and those of the human
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actors, along with those of the researcher. Therefore, it is necessary to harmonise the values of the two latter groups (actors and researcher) with the value framework of critical success factor of knowledge sharing, with any possible explanation or identify the variables affecting or contributing to the provision of floating support services in sheltered housing.
4.3.4 Philosophical position adopted in this research study
Following the above discussions, the philosophical assumptions underpinning this research is essentially interpretivism and constructivism. Kaplan and Maxwell, (1994) points that an Interpretivist researcher does not predefine dependent and independent variables, but focuses on the full complexity of individual making sense of the situation as it emerges. Interpretive approaches give the researcher greater scope to address issues of influence and impact (Deetz, 1996). In the interpretive approach, the researcher does not stand outside, but is a participant observer (Carr and Kemmis, 1986) who engages in the activities and discerns the meaning of the action as they are express within the specific social contexts. In the context of this research, the meaning participant assign to the factors that can help improve the provision of floating support services within the context of sheltered housing. The purpose of the interpretive approach is to produce an understanding of the context and the process whereby information is influence by the context. This assertion justifies the researcher‘s choice of interpretive as the philosophical rationale for this study.
Constructivism is closely connected to interpretivism. Interpretivism often addresses essential feature of shared meaning and understanding whereas constructivism extends this concern with knowledge as produced and interpreted (Gephart, 1997). In the context of this research, individual construct their own knowledge within the social-cultural context influenced by their prior knowledge and understanding, of the knowledge sharing factors that can help improve the provision of floating support services and therefore, the researcher positions herself as a researcher within the parameters of a constructivist epistemological discourse. As the emphasis is on the socially constructed nature of reality, the
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interview environment has to be created in such a way that there is close relationship between the researcher and what is being studied, so that participants could describe and express their unique individual experiences on the challenges of knowledge sharing and the critical success factors that can help improve it.