Research Paradigm

In accordance with Taylor et al. (2007), a paradigm is “a wide view or a view-of- something.” Furthermore, according Weaver and Olson (2006) how a paradigm is defined sheds light on how a study is affected and guided by a particular paradigm. The researchers point out that “paradigms are considered to be patterns of practices and beliefs that have control of inquiry in a discipline by giving lenses, processes and frames in a way which investigation is completed.” Hence, to clarify the inquiry structure of a researcher and choices of methods, paradigm exploration is discussed prior to any discussion about the choice of methodology.

According to Guba and Lincoln (1994), a paradigm is a set of beliefs, concepts, values, and methods, which deals with first or ultimate principles. A paradigm presents a worldview, the place of somebody within it, and its parts. Beliefs are termed as ‘basic’ in logic. Beliefs are accepted simply under the influence of faith, and there is no means of establishing their validity. Thus, philosophical debates cannot be resolved (Bryman, 2012).

4.4.1 Positivism Paradigm

The term positivism is a derivative of positum, a Latin word meaning ‘the passive version. Hence, positivism represents something which is set aside that offers facts that the researcher utilizes. Data represents an element which exists, and the task of the researcher is to gather and systemize data (Alevesson & Skoldberg, 2009). According to Tobin (2006), positivism is defined as a scientific method used to conduct study or research. This particular philosophy adds to realism as an element that is able to express an objective standpoint.

Positivism is a traditional type of research. Kerlinger and Lee (1999) explain that positivism is based on the belief that research in the social sciences is carried out in the same way as research in the natural sciences. Positivistic research leads to predicting and controlling phenomena.

Myers (2013) argues that the positivist paradigm searches to test theory in order to understand the measured phenomena. Therefore, some researchers prefer a positivist approach because it highlights "getting objective measures of ‘hard facts’ in the form of

numbers" (Neuman, 2006, p. 42).

4.4.2 Interpretivism Paradigm

Researchers who engage in interpretive research make the assumption that access to reality, whether offered or constructed socially, is only by social construction. This includes shared meanings, consciousness, and language. Interpretivism incorporates an anti-positivist concept, where researchers identify reality as unstable and impossible to realize from an objective point of view (Creswell, 2013). The model of interpretivism covers two intellectual traditions – phenomenology and symbolic interactionism. Phenomenology represents the process incorporated in human thought that enables an understanding of the world (Bryman & Bell, 2011). Symbolic interactionism posits that humans are continually seeking interpretations of the social world by interpreting the actions of others. This enhances adjustment of the identified meaning pertaining to various incorporated actions. Hermeneutics and phenomenology form the philosophical foundation of interpretive research. Generally, the study of interpretive issues obtains knowledge of phenomena through the meanings that individuals assign them, and methods of interpretive research are “aimed at generating context understanding of the information system, and the process where the influence of information system is context-influenced” (Walsham 1993, pp. 4- 5). Interpretive studies do not predefine independent and dependent variables, but focus fully on the complexity of human sense-making as the situation arises (Kaplan & Maxwell, 1994). Walsham’s (1993) works are examples of the interpretive approach to qualitative

research. Klein and Myers’ (1999) paper suggests a set of principles for conducting and evaluating interpretive research.

4.4.3 Critical-Social Science Paradigm

A critical approach to research includes actionable research (Bhattacherjee, 2012), assuming that a complex phenomenon of social research is perhaps more appropriately tested by making observations on how the actions affect the population at the individual level. The corresponding ethnographic approach to research is directed towards building the necessary theory, which employs an inductive approach related to the data collected. Critical study focuses on the contradictions, oppositions, and conflicts within a society that is contemporary and seeks to be emancipator. This approach is intended to help eliminate the causes of alienation and domination.

Ngwenyama and Lee’s (1997) research, together with Hirschheim and Klein’s (1994), provided an exemplary critical approach to qualitative research. Researchers who adopt a critical lens view social reality as constituted historically, generated and regenerated by individuals. Despite the fact that individuals have the ability to act in a conscious manner and change their socioeconomic circumstances, researchers in the category of critical research reveal that the ability to act is limited by several forms of political, cultural and social domination. Social critique is considered to be one major task of critical research, as the alienating and restrictive aspects of the status quo are revealed.

The critical social science paradigmhas its own origins in critical theory. Horkheimer and Adorno (2002) are particularly credited for developing the paradigm of critical theory. He describes it as a paradigm that aims “to set free human beings from the conditions (circumstances) that make them slaves.” It was established as a school of thought by five theoreticians – Herbert Marcuse, Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, and Erich Fromm – from the Frankfurt School in Germany. Drawing from the critical methods of Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx, the originators of critical theory focus mainly

transforming society by addressing inequalities, especially in relation to ethnicity, gender, and disability (Mackenzie & Knipe, 2006).

The purpose of this study is to investigate a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables that affect the OSAM through social media in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the rest of this chapter will focus on the positivist approach.

4.4.4 The Current Research

This research was conducted from a positivist paradigm that contributes toward an improved understanding of the association between factors, which would identify relationships between online shopping and the corresponding factors affecting the use of social media. The current treatise considers a positivist view with regard to online consumers and the factors that play a role in the utilization of social media in online shopping; both the OSAM and TAM theoretically contribute towards the model chosen for this study.

Flick (2009) argued that the OSAM provides the outline that determines and summarizes the online shopping tendencies and aspects of consumer behaviour in conjunction with such factors as the available online infrastructure and the demographics of a given area. Furthermore, the effects of the OSAM were taken into consideration in this study. Hence, the study is considered to be an extension of previous research in this regard (Zhou et al., 2007), in addition to providing valuable input on the purchase trends of online buyers. Table 4.1 provides a detailed summary of the objective-subjective debate as it relates to the positivist and interpretivist paradigms between the critical social sciences and the current study. This table also draws upon theories by Bryman (2012) and Kidd and Kral (2005). As illustrated in the table, the current study follows the positivist paradigm.

Table 4-1. Paradigm approach adapted from Bryman, 2012, Kidd & Kral, 2005

Assumption Positivism Interpretivism Critical Social

Science The Current Study

Epistemology (Knowledge)

Only phenomena that can be observed can yield credible facts, data

Social phenomena and subjective meanings Knowledge has a basis in historical practice, and no predefined measurements can conclusively prove or disprove a theory.

The current study will explaina phenomenon related to the use of social media for online shopping. It is a phenomenon that exists without the intervention of the researcher, and can provide credible data and objective facts that can be interpreted objectively.

Ontology (Nature of reality)

Objectivism, independent, external, objective and objective of social actors

Reality and meaning- making as socially constructed, subjective, changeable, multiple Reality is produced and reproduced by human beings.

The current study approaches the phenomenon of social media use in online shopping objectively. That is, the views and beliefs of the researchers do not influence the development of the study or the phenomenon.

Axiology (Role of

values)

Research is carried out in a

manner that is value-free. Researcher is biased through worldviews, cultural upbringing and experiences, which impacts the research.

Researcher considers the process of change to be a predominant factor in the lives of others.

There are no factors that influence the current study and its results except the phenomenon itself and the figures and statistics it yields.

Methodologic al (Research strategies)

Quantitative approach Qualitative approach Research practice may examine the manner in which others become educated.

The current study uses a quantitative method to collect data, then figures and statistical information are used to understand the phenomenon.