PHILOSOPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The burden of expectation placed on every research work is to contribute in some way to the advancement of knowledge, no matter how minute or innovative such an expedition may be. The nature of such knowledge will to a great extent depend on the kind of beliefs and perceptions that make up a researcher’s world view, which further influence the kinds of decisions made

128 about strategies and methods (Saunders et al, 2007). Such beliefs and perceptions are influenced by three components (epistemology, ontology and

axiology) deemed instrumental to what a researcher regards as important to be

studied at a particular point in time and what could be seen as useful to do such. Gray (2009) in discussing ontology and epistemology indicated that the former is the study of being or what is, which can be summed up by an understanding of the nature of existence; while the latter refers to trying to understand what it means to know. However, Crotty (1998) warns that the different words used to differentiate the various philosophical perspectives can sometimes be inconsistent or even contradictory, so he referred to them as being ‘the most slippery of terms’ (p.183). This could explain why there are various references to different words by different authors as meaning different things; however for the sake of this research Saunders et al’s (2007) propositions will be used as a guide for this chapter.

5.2.1 The Subjectivist

The ontological stance is concerned with the ‘study of being’ which is encapsulated in trying to understand what actually is (Gray, 2009), meaning the level of knowledge about the social world at our disposal and the possibility of such (Snape & Spencer, 2003). The main argument here seems to be whether social entities exist separate from social actors or that the former are formed by the interpretations given to them by the latter (Bryman and Bell, 2003).

Objectivists posit that social phenomena manifests outside the reach of social

actors and so cannot be influenced by the latter (Bryman, 2004). This position is inclined towards the thinking that the social world or reality exists of its own

129 accord and so cannot in anyway be affected by what happens with or to social actors that exist within it (Saunders et al, 2007). Subjectivists on the other hand argue that humans are instrumental in the creation of social phenomena through their actions and perceptions, through their continuous social interaction and exchanges with each other (Saunders et al., 2007). This construction of the social phenomena by social actors and their interactions with each other which could be referred to as constructionism or constructivism is not static, but dynamic resulting in a continuous process of revision (Bryman, 2004). Denscombe (2010) states that such continuous construction of social reality is influenced by the words, actions and beliefs of people in different places at various points in time, which results in the differences in social phenomena.

The ontological position taken for this research is the subjectivist and this is as a result of the belief that the interactions that take place between individuals and group contribute to the building of such social worlds. In this particular research, the researcher believes that the nature of the relationships between the various stakeholders that make up the industry are impacted and constructed by the interactions between such stakeholders. These interactions are not absolute in nature so they are deemed to be contextual even as they build our knowledge base of social reality (Byrne, 2011). As a result, this study will undertake an examination of how the different stakeholders construct the relationship between them through their words, actions and beliefs while interacting with one another.

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5.2.2 The Critical Realist

One’s epistemology refers to what is deemed by that person as constituting knowledge in a field of study (Saunders et al, 2007, p.102), and this varies from one area of research pursuit to another. Its dealings with knowledge and its meaning depends on what is deemed legitimate and adequate by the researcher, meaning that knowledge will be viewed differently by the social scientist and the natural or environmental scientist (Gray, 2009). The different epistemological positions are positivism, realism, interpretivism and critical realism with each of these focusing on a certain view of knowledge. Positivism emphasises observation and generalisations (Remenyi et al., 1998), while

realism regards social reality as being separate from researchers’ descriptions

of it (Bryman & Bell, 2003). Interpretivism focuses on interpretation based on the culture and history of subjects (Crotty, 1998), while critical realism hinges on human experiences as being an indication to the existence of reality but it is not the reality itself but an indication that there is reality (Saunders et al., 2007). This study is aligned towards critical realism which is deemed to be a departure from the realist epistemological position and as a result has become an important part of social science research in recent times (Mir and Watson, 2001). It is aimed at a facilitation of change in social structures by identifying the various structures that make up the social world (Bryman, 2008) through understanding of such structures (Saunders et al, 2009). Such an understanding must be in terms of the relationship between these structures and the various objects that are contained within and their interactions with each other in creating individual identities (Tsang and Kwan, 1999). These are

131 some of the factors guiding this study, as it aims to investigate as well as improve stakeholder relationships in the Nigerian oil industry, by looking at the interactions amongst the various stakeholders in the context of the study. This choice further helps as one realises that the social reality being studied by any researcher actually does exist outside of the participants involved in the research, including the researcher.

5.2.3 Axiology

This refers to the external as well as internal or innate values that researchers bring to the research process (Moreton-Robinson & Walter, 2009) through the role played by such values held by the researcher as well as judgements of such values. Heron and Reason (1997) argued that this aspect of philosophy is so important that it should be considered as another dimension of research philosophy. Such importance given to the values held by a researcher (Saunders et al., 2007) as developed over time makes it necessary for such a researcher to point out a few things about their value system. Heron (1996, cited in Saunders et al., 2007) argues that these values determine the direction a study takes, so he suggests that a researcher writes a statement of personal values with regard to the specific topic under study.

In line with the above, the researcher presents the following statement of value in relation to stakeholder relationships;

- he believes that CSR should be treated as an important part of business activity

132 - he views businesses as a part of society, as evidenced by the status of an artificial person that can sue and be sued which is granted to the firm at its incorporation as a business or social entity

- he believes that just as humans treat their neighbours right or are expected by society to do so, businesses must strive to meet such expectations of being good citizens

The above stated values have emerged in the researcher over time as a result of his upbringing in an African communal society where he was raised to be careful not to be involved in actions that hurt others that he comes in contact with. There is also the understanding of the place of talk with regards to giving an idea of what actions in the African setting, with the use of idiomatic expressions and proverbs to make points of emphasis. Hence, these values have influenced the researcher’s approach to this study, especially in view of his perceived view of the connection between business and society. This has led to the dependence on different data gathering methods and sources as a way of getting a better understanding of the relationships existing between stakeholders in the industry under study. The idea of businesses and society being good neighbours is therefore regarded as being significant to how businesses approach their operations, giving consideration to the impact of such activities on society.