Triangulation

The mixed methods strategy is sometimes referred to as triangulation, which describes the use of a combination of multiple empirical research methods to investigate a phenomenon (Bryman and Bell, 2010). The proponents of triangulation argue that the use of quantitative methods can be enhanced by adopting multiple ways of measuring concepts. Triangulation therefore comprises different kinds of data (quantitative and qualitative) and different method (e.g. interviews and surveys) to see whether they corroborate one another (Creswell 2014). This means that triangulation is the operationalisation of the MMR ideas.

The research adopted the convergent triangulation approach to collect and analyse data. As a result, both quantitative and qualitative data was collected simultaneously from the two clusterings in a single phase of the study. The researcher’s decision to adopt convergent triangulation was due to the limited time available to the student and the strategy’s ability to corroborate and confirm findings of the study, especially within multiple study areas (Bryman and Bell, 2010; Creswell, 2014). In addition, a convergent/concurrent strategy, where qualitative and quantitative data collection take place at the same time, was adopted since it is relatively cost-effective and has a relatively shorter data collection time period, which benefits the student researcher (Bryman and Bell 2010; Tashakkori and Teddlie 2010; Creswell, 2014). As a result, limitations such as representativeness in the qualitative studies were strengthened by the quantitative data from the two study areas. The researcher adopted both theoretical frames by triangulating primary data coming from surveys with interviews and observations.

The researcher believes that a well-executed triangulation of data and analysis complement each other and confirm or validate the research in providing an explanation as to why business clusterings in Ghana are internationalising (Greene, 2008; Leech et al, 2010). In effect, triangulation adopted in the research sought to broaden the understanding of social

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phenomena by reconciling the quantitative and qualitative data available to the researcher. Quantitative data from questionnaires was reconciled with qualitative data from semi- structured interviews and observations. The application of different methods in the two business clusterings compensated for the weaknesses in both qualitative and quantitative methods. Results from triangulated methods and analysis converge with or are opposed to each other and provided the researcher with a deeper appreciation of the phenomenon under study. As a result, each of the methods produced results in which the researcher is very confident.

The use of survey questionnaires to explain how processing businesses operate and organise their exports falls within the quantitative methodology. The survey explains the characteristics and relationships in the cluster in accordance to the conceptual frame developed for the study. This offered this study rich descriptive data on the spatial organisations and supply chain structure in the cluster, the frequency, volumes and export flows, and number of export programmes and participants of these programmes in the study area. The relationship between clustered firms and other supporting institutions in the internationalisation process was extrapolated in the descriptive study10. The techniques adopted helped to capture the relationships within the supply chain, the flow of information, export growth, and the views on institutional support and government policies and programmes in the two study areas.

Business clustering internationalisation in Ghana contributes to the discussion on cluster and internationalisation. The proposed mixed methods convergent approach to be used for the multiple case studies of clustered firms in Ghana is shown in Figure 4.2 below.

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4.5 The Study Area

The decision to select these two areas for the examination of clustered businesses’ internationalisation is based on the fact that they are dominant in the cultivation and the processing of fruits – palm in Kwaebibirem and pineapple in Nsawam. The intricate nature of the value chain in the palm study area, observed by Osei-Amponsah et al (2012), shows the wider effect of these activities on the people within the district. The pineapple study area,

PINEAPPLE CLUSTERING

Qual. Interview & Observation

Qual. Data

Analysing and merging both types of data

+ + + + RESEARCH PROBLEM RESEARCH QUESTIONS THEORETICAL FRAME

FIELD RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

PALM CLUSTERING

Quan. Survey & Secondary Data

Qual. Interview & Observation

Quant. Survey Secondary Data

Quan. Data Qual. Data Quant. Data

Analysing and merging both types of data

Merging and corroborating analysed data from both clusterings

Dev’t of a new conceptual framework for business cluster internationalisation

Discussing overall results

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according to GEPA (2013), is equally a unique product value chain, whose description is similar to the palm study areas.

Their presence within the same region brings with it some level of commonality with respect to ethnicity, language and culture. The fact that the Nsawam and Kwaebibirem areas in the eastern region of Ghana are dominated by Akan-speaking ethnic groups and have similar cultural and belief systems (GSS, 2010) offers the research some level of homogeneity in terms of the socio-cultural environment of the study areas.

The two areas for this study appear to have similar economic activities. The GSS (2010) data shows that almost half of the economically active population in the two areas are engaged in some form of agricultural activity. Processing industries are the most common industrial activities in the two study areas (Ghana Districts, 2014). Palm and pineapple cultivating, processing and exporting appear to be the dominant economic activities in the two areas, providing employment, infrastructures and livelihood to these communities (Budget Statement, 2010; MASDAR Report, 2010; GEPA, 2013).

The emerging commonalities and issues in the Nsawam and Kwaebibirem study areas makes them suitable for a comparative study in unearthing the rationale behind clustered businesses’ internationalisation in Ghana.

Case 1: Palm Cluster

The first study area is located in the south-western corner of the Eastern Region of Ghana and covers a surface area of 1,230 square kilometres. With a population of 213,259, the district contains 149 towns and villages with Kade as the district capital. Kade is less than two hours’ drive from Ghana’s capital, Accra. This location is made up of registered palm processing businesses operating from fixed premises in the Kwaebibirem district and has been denoted as the palm cluster (Huddleston and Tonts, 2007; Osei-Amponsah et al, 2012).

The district has two rainy seasons which support a variety of agricultural produce including cash crops such as cocoa, oil palm and pineapple fruits, and food crops such as maize, plantain, cassava and cocoyam. Seventy-seven per cent of the economically active labour force engages in agriculture through farming their own or their family’s land, or through farming leased land owned by government or chiefs, or by sharecropping. The remaining 23% is distributed between industry, commerce and service sectors (GSS, 2010). The main

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industrial activity of the local people is the operation of large-, medium- and small-scale oil- palm processing plants and mills (Ford and Whitfield, 2012; Osei-Amponsah et al, 2012). The farming of palm fruits is annexed by palm processing businesses, distributors and other supporting institutions in the Kwaebibirem district. According to NBSSI and the palm association in the district, there are about 225 registered palm-fruit processing businesses. This information has been supported by business advisory services’ estimates of registered palm-fruit processing businesses registered with the Kwaebibirem District Assembly (NBSSI, 2013).

The main economic activity is the operation of oil-palm processing plants and mills. They vary in size, ranging from large to medium and small scale (Osei-Amponsah et al, 2012). The Kwaebibirem district is home to the only research centre for oil palm in Ghana. It is known as the Oil Palm Research Institute (OPRI) and is a branch of Ghana’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The district also has 15 financial institutions including savings and loan companies, and rural and commercial banks. There exists a network of palm businesses including fruit farmers, distributors, palm processing enterprises and exporters, and agricultural business units. Palm fruit farms are a significant feature of the vicinity; these farms are either on a subsistence or a commercial basis. Whereas most micro palm processing units may not be registered, the small-, medium- and large-scale firms are and their activities are well coordinated.

Case 2: Pineapple Cluster

The second study area is made up of pineapple production and processing businesses. The area is located in the south-eastern corner of the Eastern Region of Ghana and covers a surface area of 403 square kilometres. The population of Nsawam municipality is estimated at 126,809 and the area contains 20 towns with Nsawam as the district capital. Approximately only 23 minutes away from Accra, Ghana’s capital, the proximity of the municipality to Ghana’s international airport and the shipping harbour is an advantage.

Thirty-seven percent of the Nsawam municipality’s population is employed in agriculture, 28% are in the commercial sector, 20% are in the industrial sector and 15% are in the service sector. There is a concentration of agro-processing businesses that are capitalising on the output from the agricultural activities in the municipality. The data from the Nsawam municipality and Ministry of Trade and Industry puts the estimated number of processing

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businesses at 18. The agricultural activities in the district centre mainly on non-traditional crops, such as pineapples, papaw, garden eggs and sunflowers, which are cultivated mainly for export.

There exists a pool of supporting institutions and businesses that are constantly interacting with these agro-processing businesses in the district (Ayakwah, 2011). There are eight financial institutions, one business advisory centre and other government policy institutions such as the National Board for Small Scale Industry (NBSSI) and Ghana Regional Appropriate Technology Industrial Service (GRATIS), which interact with SMEs in the municipality. The value chain of SMEs in the area constitutes pineapple farmers, distributors, pineapple processing enterprises and exporters. There exist small, medium and large-scale fruit processing businesses in the municipality. Some processors have farms while others purchase from farmers. These pineapple farms may export directly through export institutions or sell their output to processing firms (NBSSI, 2012).