Research methods

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3.5.1 Exploratory studies

This is a study usually undertaken when new insights into, and understanding of, a problem is the goal. According to Saunders et al (2009), there are three principal ways of conducting exploratory research

 A search of literature;

 Interviewing open dictation experts" edition in the subjects;  Conducting focus group interviews.

One of the main characteristics of exploratory research is that it is highly flexible and adaptable to change. New insights might change the direction of the research. However, flexibility does not mean a lack of direction but a narrow focus.

3.5.2 Descriptive studies

The major concern of the descriptive research is to give an accurate account of the phenomena as it is and/or as it happened. A major issue with descriptive research is that, in itself, there is a lack of drawn conclusion from the data described. It fails to answer the question so what? In the academic field, it is imperative that any data collected is synthesised and evaluated in such a way that the conclusion can be derived. Therefore, descriptive research is usually a prequel to either explanatory research or exploratory research.

3.5.3 Explanatory studies

These are studies that establish causal relationships between variables. You may find that this research is a combination of syllogisms in which a final conclusion is reached.

This research is exploratory in nature as it brings new insights into the issues surrounding construction business and the recovery process. By implication, the research was somewhat flexible and open to change as it progressed and as new findings emerge. By “change” we mean a more focussed direction and not the loss of it. In order to have an elliptical understanding of the cases, the in-depth description method was adopted as well, so that the reader understands situations and the issues facing the respective companies.

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3.6

Research strategy

These are strategies that enable a researcher of the particular research questions to meet their objectives. The choice of research strategy is guided by the following: research questions and objectives, the extent of existing knowledge, the mode of time and resources available, and finally the philosophical underpinnings (Saunders et al, 2009). The question driving this research is: How does a failing construction company turnaround?

The research strategies available are; experiment, survey, case study, action research, grounded theory, ethnographic, and archival research.

3.6.1 Experiment

Experiments are rarely used in management research because of the inconsistency found in the interpretations attached to phenomena by human beings. However, this is the most wildly adopted research strategy in the natural science laboratory-based research. According to Saunders et al (2009) experiments are often the ‘gold standard’ against which rigour of other strategies are accessed.

3.6.2 Survey

This is a research strategy that operates on the basis of statistical sampling. The sample must be the right representation of the population size (Fellows and Liu, 1997). It is usually associated with deductive approach and by nature tends to be exploratory and descriptive. It is used to answer why, what, where, how much and how many questions (Saunders et al, 2009). Surveys are usually adopted for economic reasons and also to collect large amounts of data quickly usually, through a questionnaire administered to a sample.

3.6.3 Case study

According to Fellow and Liu (1997), case studies encourage in-depth investigation of particular instances within the research subject. This research strategy is defined as "a strategy for the research which involves an empirical investigation of the particular contemporary phenomena within its real-life contexts using multiple sources of evidence" (Saunders et al, 2009). The case study is different from; experiment because it is not done in a controlled environment and surveys because it does not merely work within context

130 but try to explore and understand the context. There are three types of case studies, descriptive, analytical and explanatory case studies (Naoum, 2007). Descriptive and analytical case studies have to do with statistical representation hence have been ruled out as appropriate for this research. The explanatory case study on the other hand, asks the question ‘why’. The Case study strategy, is used to answer “why” questions. Therefore, it is used in exploratory and explanatory research. Although, it also answers the questions, “what” and “how”, the research will adopt a case to the research strategy may decide to adopt a variety of data collection techniques, for example, interviews, observations, documentary analysis and questionnaires. According to Yin, (2009) there are four types of key study strategies; single case studies, multiple case studies, holistic studies, and embedded case studies. For in-depth studies about extreme or unique events, Single case studies are adopted. While multiple case studies (model one case) focuses on identifying multiple occurrence of an event so as to generalise from the findings. Holistic and embedded case studies refer to the unit of analysis. Saunders et al (2009) confirm that if the research is concerned only with the researcher’s organisation as a whole then the organisation is a holistic case study. While the in-depth study of subunits within the organisation will be considered as an embedded case to the research.

3.6.4 Action research

According to Fellow and Liu (1997) action research involves active participation by the researcher in the process on the study, in order to identify, promote and even identify problems and potential solutions. Action research falls within basic research categories and applied research category because the diagnosis and test solutions to particular problems respectively.

3.6.5 Grounded theory

The theory that is generated from data rather than abstracts is known as ‘Grounded theory’. Bailey (1978) describes it as a theory developed by (1) entering the fieldwork phase without a hypothesis; (2) describing what happens; and (3) formulating explanations as to why it happens on the basis of observation. Grounded theory could be classified under the inductive research approach and as such begins at the empirical level and ends at the conceptual level (Emmel, 2013). Unlike the deductive approach which proceeds from conceptual level to the empirical level. In grounded theory, the only variables and

131 hypothesis that are utilized are those that emerge from the data (Bailey, 1978). However, according to Saunders et al (2009), grounded theory must not be seen solely as an inductive approach - as "theory building" could be achieved through a combination of inductive deductive approach. The main aim of grounded theory research is to predate and explain period. It starts with data collection from which theory is developed. Based on this theory predictions are generated and tested to see if they hold any water. Bailey (1978) asserts that in grounded theory approach, only those hypothesis or theories that are verified are recognised, and verification as a separate step is unnecessary. However, if the researcher wishes to utilize a hypothesis developed from grounded theory in some new research setting, the researcher may require a verification stage. The advantages and disadvantages of grounded theory are similar to that of inductive research approach. The single most important advantage of grounded theory is that the probability of measurement error is reduced, since concepts are mirror images of empirically observed data. On the other hand, the disadvantage of grounded theory is that, it is difficult to generalize theory because grounded theory tends to focus on context. It neither seeks to have a perfect representation of the population nor have a total understanding of the situation under study (Bailey, 1978; Emmel, 2013; Charmaz, 2014). Grounded theory is only interested in generating categories and their properties for general and specific situations and problems, through the acts of writing memos and coding (Emmel, 2013; Charmaz, 2014).

Central to processes of grounded theory, is the emerging theory, where the researcher is constantly asking what data to collect next and where to find them in order to develop theory as it emerges (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). The strategy of selecting samples in grounded theory is known as ‘theoretical sampling’ and it is the only single logic that distinguishes grounded theory from other types of qualitative research (Charmaz, 2014).

3.6.6 Ethnography

In ethnography, the researcher becomes part of the group understood and observes subjects behaviour as they interact with their social world (Fellow and Liu, 1997). Ethnography research has deep roots in anthropology. According to Saunders et al (2009) the research process requires a great deal of flexibility says the researcher will constantly be developing new patterns of thoughts about what is being observed. However Fellow and Liu (1997)

132 point out that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to determine the degree of influence caused by the presence of the researcher within the research project.

3.6.7 Archival research

Archival research makes use of administrative records and documents as principal sources of data Saunders et al (2009). Archival research strategy should not be confused with secondary data analysis. The latter, is the analysis of data that were originally collected for a different purpose while the former is the analysis of data collected from the day-to-day activities of the organisation.