Caracterización general de la entidad objeto de estudio.

Burrell and Morgan (1979, 3) categorised two main research approaches: a subjectivist approach and an objectivist approach. The difference between these two approaches can be investigated via ontology and epistemology.

Ontology is mainly concerned with the nature of existence. That is to say, that it is about the essence of the target of investigation. In social science studies, the perception of core nature of knowledge is diverse because of the variation of research targets and knowledge backgrounds. That leads to discrepancies and the uncertainty of ontology. Even for events or facts that are considered identical, different interpretations or meanings might be constructed. The cause could be changes in social reality, or with the structure and development of the surrounding environment. Such differences in description can be captured by two distinct research approaches: the objectivist and the subjectivist approaches to social science. The objectivist approach considers the social reality as something that exists objectively, with an eternal law of operation. Such an approach, called realism, believes that truth exists objectively. In this study, the ontological stance is that of the realist. The belief of this study is that individuals in the buying centre

97

make their decisions through an objective, observable frame. In this case, it should be possible to recognise and then analyse the factors that influence those individuals’ decisions regarding CIB adoption.

Epistemology discusses the nature of knowledge and approaches toward obtaining knowledge. Typical inquiries concern, for example, “What is considered as knowledge, or fact?”, “How is knowledge formed?”, “What is the nature of that knowledge?”, “How can critical and experiential knowledge be distinguished?”, “What is the standard for the verification of knowledge?”, and “How is knowledge distributed and understood in daily life?” The epistemological concern in academic research is to understand the reality behind the phenomena, and consider the position and attitude held by the researcher at the time. In this study, the epistemological stance is positivism. According to the “realist” approach, new knowledge can be acquired from an examination of prior knowledge and evidence (Burrell and Morgan 1979).

Human nature refers to the relationships between human beings and the surrounding environment. All researchers have particular beliefs when studying phenomena which direct the process they follow. This raises questions about whether human beings are products of their environment, or whether they create their environment according to their needs. Determinists believe that man is always determined by the situation and the environment, with all human behaviours being driven by these causal forces. Voluntarists, on the other hand, believe that human beings are completely autonomous and possess free will, and act voluntarily in the creation their world (Burrell and Morgan 1979). Here,

98

human nature is active, self-actualising, and intuitive. In this study, the stance adopted on human nature is that of determinism. That is, every social entity is determined by its antecedents and causes; therefore, it is possible to trace the current occurrence of each back to its preceding affairs. Here, human behaviours and decisions are conditioned under the law of causality. In this study, the behavioural intentions shaping the adoption of IB by corporate customers are being considered, as are the attitudes involved in forming behavioural intentions. Adopting a determinist stance is consistent with investigating the antecedent factors of attitudes.

Methodology concerns the way in which researchers approach the real world, through which the basic assumptions, logic, principles, rules, and procedures of research are explored. It is a general, conceptual approach or philosophy that is employed in order to guide the conduct of research, dealing with methods and strategies for the discovery verification of the true nature of various phenomena and actions that occur during day-to-day human activities.

There are two extremes that are frequently discussed in research methodology: nomothetic and ideographic. A nomothetic approach considers that rules and principles in social relationships can be described in general terms. This approach is mainly objectivist, wherein the researcher focuses on logical reasoning and deduction, prediction, and the interpretation of the target entity. The ideographic approach basically rejects the notion that there are principles in factors within social lives, or that there is the possibility that such social relations could be generally understood. On the contrary, it states that an individual is

99

capable of establishing, modifying, and interpreting the meaning of society. Subjectivism emphasises a deeper recognition and understanding of social experiences via the frame of reference of the research target. The ideographic methodology will serve that function (Harmon and Mayer 1986, 289-290). In this study, the stance of the methodology is a nomothetic one, because it is an approach that employs the use of quantitative techniques in examining the factors. This might better predict the propensity of corporate customers to adopt CIB.

Thus, following the philosophical assumptions introduced by Burrell and Morgan (1979), this study adopts the ontological stance of the realist; the epistemological stance of the positivist; the human nature stance of the determinist; and the methodological stance of the nomothetic.