Research ethics

This research complies with relevant ethics guidelines published by the Marketing Research Society (MRS), including the “MRS Guidelines for Business-to-Business Research” (MRS B2B, 2011) and the “MRS Guidelines for Qualitative Research” (MRS QR, 2011), as well as relevant academic publications addressing ethics considerations in qualitative research (Kvale, 1996; Ryen, 2004; King & Horrocks, 2010).

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Table 3.2 summarises how the present research addresses pertinent ethical considerations detailed in the MRS guidelines. The selection of nineteen guidelines considers three main areas of concern to the present research: obtaining informed consent, ensuring confidentiality and anonymity of collected data, and managing incentives.

Table 3.2. Research ethics.

Based on MRS B2B and QR Guidelines (2011).

Guideline Implemented measures

Informed Consent

(1) Research participation is

based on informed consent All interview participants received a signed electronic version of the letter of intent upon first contact (2) Researcher maintains

professional and honest approach.

(3) Transparency of subject and purpose of data collection. (4) Participants are clearly

communicated:

▪ Interviewer name …

▪ Compliance with MRS Code of Conduct;

▪ The subject, purpose and likely duration of the interview;

(5) Participants must not be misled.

(6) Participants have the right to withdraw at any stage.

Guidelines 2-6 are addressed in the “letter of intent” provided to each participant. The electronic messages asking for participation included three sections clarifying:

▪ The purpose for contacting the participant, the subject and scope of this research;

▪ The name and contact details of the researcher, the institution and academic supervisor;

▪ The estimated duration of the interview;

▪ That participants are free to withdraw at any stage of the research;

▪ How data is collected, anonymised, transcribed, stored and reported;

▪ The participant’s right to review the data at any stage prior to its publication;

▪ A sample of key questions;

▪ A range of suggested meeting times and locations (to minimize the participants’ financial and time

investment);

▪ Options for contacting the researcher for further details.

▪ All participants were clearly informed of their right to

not have the interview audio-recorded. (7) Follow-up contact with

participants must be agreed in the previous contact.

The researcher obtained consent to re-contact all participants via phone, e-mail or personal meetings for further clarification or follow-up interviews.

(8) Researchers must respect the rights and well-being of participants.

The participants’ well-being was respected by obtaining informed consent and ensuring that participants’

preferences regarding meeting time, location and duration were observed as much as possible. The researcher travelled across Germany to meet participants in various locations, including offices, homes, cafes or cars.

(9) Participants are reassured that data are used only for stated research purposes.

This concern was addressed in the letter of intent and through verbal confirmation during the introduction and/or de-briefing phase of the interview.

Data Confidentiality and Anonymity (10) Researchers must

respect the confidentiality of collected information.

Data confidentiality was observed by signing the letter of intent and implementing agreed data storage and reporting practices.

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Guideline Implemented measures

Data confidentiality involves:

▪ Secure data storage

▪ Anonymising data for transcription, translation and analysis processes

▪ Non-disclosure of any personal or interview information identifying individual participants to other participants or readers

▪ Using obtained data strictly for the stated purpose The confidentiality agreement regulating the participant observation phase required:

▪ No disclosure of project details to third parties

▪ No statement of the company name on the researcher’s CV

▪ No hard or soft copies of any material from the company PC, databases or e-mail exchanges.

▪ No audio recording, unless individually agreed with the employees

(11) Anonymity of participants must be preserved, unless informed consent is obtained to reveal identification details. (12) Qualitative data labelled

as anonymised must not contain identifiable data (13) All hard copy and

electronic data must be stored, transferred and processed securely in accordance with relevant data protection policies.

▪ Participant information was anonymised by allocating each participant an identification number (ID) that has been used throughout the transcription, translation and reporting phases.

▪ Access to the table matching participant ID with further information is exclusive to the researcher and academic supervisors.

▪ All business artefacts are anonymised.

(14) Only relevant personal

data must be collected. The researcher collected only essential participant information, including the full name, organization, professional role, preferred contact e-mail address and/or phone number.

(15) Researchers must ensure that participants are not adversely affected by their professional activities

In response to this requirement, the researcher

▪ Strictly adhered to confidentiality requirements;

▪ Anonymised all collected data;

▪ Met several participants outside their work environments, such as cafes, homes and cars.

(16) Researchers must not reveal to any other participants any details regarding their identity or response details

This concern was addressed by the researcher’s alertness during interviews (and participant observation), as multiple participants voiced interest to know who else participated in the research.

(17) Researchers must fully inform participants about what will be revealed, to whom and for what purpose

This concern was addressed in the letter of intent and through verbal confirmation during the introduction and/or de-briefing phase of the interview.

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Guideline Implemented measures

Incentives

(18) Incentives: offering a brief report summary may be used as an

encouragement for participation.

(19) Researcher must inform participants of potential research limitations.

The researcher offered participants the opportunity to obtain an abridged version of key findings from this research. This report contains a section stating relevant research limitations.