Quantitative Data Collection

A survey method is a common quantitative data collection technique used in social science (May, 1999) and particularly in business and management research

(Griffins, Goldsby and Cooper, 2003). Surveys are often associated with

questionnaires. The distinct characteristic of surveys is that they are ‘characterised by structured and systematic set of data… All it means is that we collect information about the same variables or characteristics from at least two (normally more) cases and end up with a data matrix’ (de Vaus, 1996 p. 3). It means that all respondents are asked the same questions and are able to answer within the given range of provided answer-options. This allows for a statistical analysis of the relationships between constructs and comparisons between respondents (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2002).

There are different means available for conducting surveys: face-to-face, telephone, mail and online (e.g. Willimack et al., 1995; Cobanoglu, Warde and Moreo, 2001; Wright 2005). For the current research, the method of face-to-face data collection was rejected mainly due to interview bias (Bailar, Bailey and Stevens, 1977). For example, respondents can be more conscious to reveal sensitive (financial)

information in the presence of the interviewer. Moreover face-to-face data collection is associated with high costs and time commitment. As the population of interest for the current study included export managers around the UK (see for more details section 5.3.4), the benefits of face-to-face data collection (for example, higher rate of questionnaire completion) would not outweigh the costs associated with travelling around the country. Additionally, the busy schedule of export managers (who are often out of the office or even out of the country) would have prolonged the period of data collection.

Telephone interviews were rejected mainly due to the length of the questionnaire and its general complexity. A twelve-page questionnaire was constructed (see section 5.5), taking about 30 minutes to complete. It would have been difficult for managers to devote 30 minutes for a telephone interview. At the same time, some people prefer to see written-down questions before providing answers, as it allows for thinking and finding required information if needed (e.g. specific sales figures) (c.f. Hox and De Leeuw, 1994).

A mail survey technique was rejected mainly due to the nature of the export managers’ job. As mentioned above, they are often out of the office, working from home, meeting clients or travelling to another country. These circumstances increase the probability that they would not receive a mailed questionnaire, receive it with significant delay or that eventually the questionnaire would be filled in by someone else rather than the key informant (for example, any manager who is the office at that moment), or not filled in at all. All these factors negatively influence the response rate and increase the probability of data collection biases (Dillman, 2007).

The final option is an online survey, which represents a promising way forward in survey administration (Albaum et al., 2010). ‘Online surveys are becoming more frequent compared to alternative survey methodologies and this is likely to continue as the demographic penetration of the internet increases’ (Hooley, Marriott and Wellens 2012 p. 42). According to Dillman (2007 p. 358) ‘the rapidity of innovation in computer equipment and access, suggests considerable long-term optimism with regard to conducting email and web surveys’. In the section below the advantages and disadvantages of online surveys are outlined in more details.

5.3.3.4 Online Data Collection Methods

There are six main advantages to online surveys. Firstly, it allows for a reduction in the costs of survey implementation (paper costs, mailout, data entry costs etc.) (Griffins, Goldsby and Cooper, 2003). Second, it helps to overcome the international barriers for conducting the research (Crawford, McCabe and Pope, 2005) as the research can be accessed regardless respondents’ location (Fricker and Schonlau, 2002; Hooley, Marriott and Wellens, 2012). That is particularly relevant for the current research as export managers often visit clients in other countries. Third, sample size can be maximised without a direct increase of costs. Fourth, responses can be received quicker, and automatically inputted into the relevant analysis

software (e.g., SPSS). Finally, the rate of non-response for open-ended questions is lower for online surveys compared with mail surveys (e.g Benfield and Szlemko, 2006; Van Selm and Jankowski, 2006; Heerwegh and Loosveldt, 2008). Despite the fact that most of the questions developed for the current study were closed-ended

open-ended answers (e.g. number of employees, number of companies exporting to) (see Appendix 5.1).

Although, online surveys suffer from a number of limitations that researchers have to be aware of:

Online surveys are not appropriate for all studied groups. The stability of this method is completely dependent on the level of computerisation of a target population

(Schaefer and Dillman, 1998). ‘The use of Internet surveys for conducting high quality probability surveys will be limited to survey populations with high rates of computer use. Surveys of business, universities, large organisations, groups of professionals [,...] are examples’ (Dillman, 2007 p.356). For export managers (which represented the population of interest for the current study), there are only minor coverage problems associated with online surveys. That said, while most company managers know how to use computers, not all are familiar with electronic

questionnaires (Hooley, Marriott and Wellens, 2012). To overcome this issue, clear explanations and instructions on how to fill in the survey instrument are required. In addition, people can be more conscious about confidentiality issues using electronic rather than paper questionnaires (Ranchhod and Zhou, 2001). In response, a guarantee of confidentiality should be provided. For example, emails can be sent from the University email address rather than from the personal account of the researcher.

Finally, it is likely that the online questionnaire seen by the respondent will not be exactly the same as the one initially created by the researcher due to differences in computers (e.g. operating system, web browser used, software). Some of the differences between what a researcher and a respondent see, could include (according to Dillman, 2007):

• different colours,

• changes in the distances between horizontal scale categories, • misaligned text,

• page/questions require scrolling to be seen in their entirety, • a change in the visual appearance of questions.

Despite some disadvantages associated with online surveys, its benefits significantly outweight its limitations. As a result, online data collection method was chosen for the current research.