Thematic analysis of data

The study aims to identify the factors that hinder the transformation process in the petroleum retail business, with specific focus on the participation of the Black women in this industry. To achieve this aim, a thematic analysis was selected as the data analysis method. Thematic analysis incorporates the identification of different themes and concepts that are existing in the qualitative data as implemented using Saunders’ et al. (2015) four step approach which was described in chapter 3. The categories and codes are made up of developing or emerging themes from both literature and interviews, researcher viewpoint and perspectives and professional definitions.

This research study is closely associated with deductive thematic analysis because the researcher is independent of what is being researched and all themes exist in the literature (Saunders et al 2015). Multiple revisions were performed at various stages in the coding process to ensure the coding process was concise and to avoid codes that overlap. Interviews were conducted by the researcher to ensure equal opportunity for the participants to express their views on topics that are identical. Five themes emerged from the transcripts of the interviews, namely: funding, legislation, marketing, exclusivity and survival. These themes are briefly elaborated on in the illustration below:

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Figure 4.7: Graphical presentation of themes as factors that hinder Black women entry into the petroleum industry.

Below is tabulated information of themes matching the number of sources and references on each theme and the number of participants who expressed their views of the theme. This enables the researcher to rank the themes accordingly.

Table 4.4: Summary of themes as factors that hinder Black women entry into the petroleum industry. Number of sources Number of reference s Participant numbers Rankin g 1 Access to finance 6 26 1,2,3,4,5 1 2 Legislation 6 17 1,2,3,4,5, 2 3 Marketing 4 14 1,2,3,4 3 4 Exclusivity 6 09 1,2,3,4,5 5 5 Survival 5 11 1,2,3,4,5 4

Themes

•Poor access to funding primarily from funding institutions

Legislation

•Legislation not assisting in promoting gender equality

Marketing

•New opportunities in this kind of business are not advertised to the public but to the closed distribution list

Exclusivity

•Due to intense processes (especially the tests) and huge amount of money needed to acquire this businesses, this totally excludes the previously disadvantage group

Survival

•Survival of the new entrants especially females – need to cope with the demands of the petroleum sector with its challenges on their own

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A fishbone diagram (also known as Ishikawa diagram) was created with the goal of identifying and grouping the causes which generate a quality problem (Ilie G. &. Ciocoiu C.N., 2010). Therefore, to further elaborate on the themes stated above the researcher has demonstrated the barriers to entry of African black women to Engen service stations using a fishbone illustration in order to dig deeper and group together the causes that generate the barriers that emerged during the interviews and in the literature. A fishbone diagram was a fitting model to use as it is an analysis tool that provides a systematic way of looking at effects and the causes that create or contribute to those effects; effects being barriers in this case. Because of the function of the fishbone diagram, it may be referred to as a cause-and-effect diagram (Watson, 2004).

Figure 4.8: Graphical presentation of barriers to entry of African black women to Engen service stations. Source: Created for this study. Fishbone illustration source: Ilie G. & Ciocoiu C.N. 2010

The fishbone structure provided by the above diagram assisted the researcher to structure the causes and effects in a very systematic way which in turn assisted in the flow of discussion of each finding. Some of the benefits of constructing a fishbone diagram are that it helps determine the root causes of a problem or quality characteristic using a structured approach,

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encourages participation, utilizes knowledge of the process and identifies areas where data should be collected (Ilie et. al., 2010). As illustrated with the above fishbone, below is the graphical presentation of the factors that hinder Black women entry into the petroleum industry following the sequence of economic barriers, non-economic barriers and cross-sectional barriers. This analysis is in line with the literature review in chapter 2. The researcher has put a hypotrophy on the sub-section barriers that may fall under cross-sectional category. Some of these are direct barriers and some are indirect or contributing factors to the sustainability challenge of these retail service stations owned by Black females. These are then further discussed below.

Figure 4.9: Graphical presentation of barriers or factors that hinder Black women entry into the petroleum industry. Source: Created for this study.

Barriers

Economic

Access to finance

Funding

High start-up costs

Own capital requirements

High running costs

Non-economic Exclusivity Male dominated industry Previously advantaged group Intense Processes Lack of knowledge Survival Lack of mentorship Long Hours Lack of business acumen Lack of respect Victimization Maintenance*

Thefts and break- ins* Cross-sectional Legislation Constitution Liquid Fuel Charter

Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Employment Equity Act The Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Marketing Closed loop marketing Lack of flexibility Competition Fixed prices

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