Los conflictos y los lazos de conflicto de las mujeres internas

Choosing what type of research philosophy is a significant stage, and researchers have to decide whether they are going to develop and apply existing theory and models or create new theories. It is an important matter to decide what philosophical approaches should be applied because each philosophy has its own way of conducting methods and targets so that, in the methodology literature, several philosophical approaches are stated. For the current study, the

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most appropriate philosophy paradigm is positivism because the phenomenon of the context was established and most of the constructs that were identified in the conceptual model were examined. In addition, the current research developed the conceptual model and integrated different constructs in order to examine Internet banking users’ behaviours across different cultures, and whether this phenomenon can be generalized across cultures.

According to Alexander et al. (2008) in the social research, positivism and interpretivism

‎paradigms‎ can‎ be‎ distinguished, depending on the assumptions underpinning them. The

‎assumptions‎ that‎ differentiate‎ researchers‎ are‎ ontology‎ and‎ epistemology.‎ In‎ terms‎ of‎ the‎

ontology assumption, researchers would focus on the nature of reality, so that positivism

‎researchers‎believe that the phenomena exists and can be measured and are looking for facts,

‎while‎the‎interpretivism‎researchers‎believe‎that‎the‎world‎is‎socially‎constructed‎and‎it can be interpreted according to what researchers see. ‎In‎ contrast,‎ epistemology‎ assumptions‎

believe‎ that‎ researchers‎ should‎ concentrate‎ on‎ what‎ they‎ should or can do with the social research so that positivism researchers believe that developing ‎abstract‎and‎general‎theories‎is‎

the‎ main‎ purpose of social research, as well as defining causality, ‎predictability‎ and‎ test‎

hypotheses.‎The‎interpretivism‎researchers‎believe‎that‎explanation‎ and understanding are the main aims of the social research (Alexander et al., 2008). Accordingly, ‎the‎quantitative‎data‎

naturally‎is‎realist‎and‎depends‎on‎the‎small‎numbers‎of‎cases,‎while‎the‎ qualitative data can be either realist or constructivist and an understanding of the world can be obtained

‎‎(Alexander‎et al., 2008).

‎

Black (1999) stated that in the qualitative social science research, theories are the foundation of studies and can be thought of as formal statements of social events. Social science theories allow researchers for carry out their investigation, confirmation and verification and are dynamic so that theories are expected to change and improve because they have been developed through an induction process. The current study is based on existing theories (theory of reasoned action and social cognitive theory) and the Technology Acceptance Model which explains how specific relationships, direction and outcomes were established.

The study attempts to improve and examine the external validity of these theories on the sample population of western culture so that applicability and validity of these theories can be confirmed.

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Arndt (1985) highlighted three typology research orientations; namely, empiricism, criticism and constructivism. He stated that the comparison between the data sentences with theory sentences is one of the empiricism orientation research’s objective. Arndt (1985) claims that empiricism orientation is the most dominant orientation in marketing and an ideal approach for the natural sciences and behavioral sciences because it regulates the relationship between the researcher, the research process and the aspect studies. It was mentioned that human behavior phenomena is governed by invariant laws so that it should be invariant of variation in time, space and consciousness of the subject and object (Arndt, 1985). In addition, the subjective world was introduced and human behavior was examined through rigorous causal models, consisting of independent and dependent variables (Arndt, 1985).

Hunt (1994) highlighted the background, practice and methods in the context of marketing and stated that the positivism (logical positivism or logical empiricism) is the dominant paradigm in marketing, for which quantitative methods, the adoption or realism, the search for causality and the assumption of determinism are used. Holden and Lynch (2004) introduced different philosophical perspectives and their major research implications. They claim that according to the nature of science dimension, there are two philosophical positions:

namely, objectivist and subjectivism approaches. In terms of the objectivist approach, the research can be performed independently of what is being observed and researchers’

interests, values and beliefs will have no influence on what study and methods are applied.

According to Hunt (1993), the objectivism approach require that the theories under study, laws and explanations be empirically testable. In marketing, Hanson and Grimmer (2007) highlighted two main research philosophies; namely, positivist end and constructionist end.

In terms of the positivist end, they stated that quantitative research is the main dominant and generalization can be defended by performing reliability and validity.

Holden and Lynch (2004) stated that in the objectivism approach, identifying causal explanations and fundamental laws in human social behaviour is the major goal (Easterby-Smith et al., 1991). In order to identify causal explanations in human social behaviour, it is necessary to utilise a hypothetico-deductive process and choose a convenient sample size so that the generalization of the results can be possible (Holden and Lynch, 2004). This process required the formulation of hypotheses that were developed from the researchers’

conceptualization of a particular phenomenon (Holden and Lynch, 2004). David and Sutton (2011) stated that whether a variable can be defined and operationalized in advance, and in

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addition whether it is internally homogenous and externally discrete from another variable are the fundamental issues that should be taken into consideration in deductive forms of quantitative research (hypothetico-deductive research). However, if the boundaries between variables cannot be defined, then inductive and qualitative exploration should be designed (David and Sutton, 2011). According to the current study, the boundaries between the chosen constructs under investigation are distinguishable, based on the existing theories that are adopted as a foundation for the current study’s conceptual framework. For example, perceived usefulness, ease of use, attitude, behaviour intention, trust, self-efficacy, subjective norm and loyalty were examined and supported as distinct constructs in the existing studies.

Accordingly, different hypotheses were formulated in the current study and can be examined statistically. David and Sutton (2011, P.216) summarized the hypothetico-deductive research process as shown in the following figure:

Figure 5. 1: The Research Process in a Hypothetico-deductive Research Model

Theory

Hypothesis

Operationalization

Data Collection Reject or Accept

Hypothesis

Data Analysis

Saunders et al. (2003) identified three research philosophies; namely, positivism, interpretivism, and realism. These depend on the way researchers think and decide about the development of knowledge. Hussey and Hussey (1997) and Easterby-Smith et al. (1991) stated that positivism and phenomenology were two main research paradigms. Easterby-Smith et al. (2002) suggested three criteria that researchers have to consider in order to choose the right approach. First, researchers should decide how their research data can be

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collected and analyzed, and the types of evidence collected and whether they can be interpreted so that they can provide good answers to the research questions are critical issues.

These may help researchers to choose the right approach. Second, researchers should think which approaches would work better than others. Finally, researchers should take into consideration such issues as the limitation of access to the data required, the lack of prior knowledge of the topic under investigation, and insufficient understanding of the topic.

In terms of the positivism approach, the adoption of the philosophical stance of the natural scientist means that researchers work with an observable social reality, and findings can be generalized (Saunders et al., 2003). Hussey and Hussey (1997) stated that applying particular theories, factors and developing hypotheses were the main concerns and objectives of the positivism research.

Table 5.1 shows the differences between the positivism and phenomenological paradigms. In the following sections, why this paradigm is applicable for the current study over others will be illustrated.

Table 5. 1: Contrasting Implication of Positivism and Social Constructionism

Classical features Positivism Social Constructionism The observer must be independent is part of what is being observed Human interests should be irrelevant are the main drivers of science

Explanations must demonstrate causality aim to increase general understanding of the situation Research progresses

through hypotheses and deductions gathering rich data from which ideas are induced

Concepts need to be operationalized so that they can be measured

should incorporate stakeholder perspectives

Units of analysis should be reduced to simplest terms

may include the complexity of whole situations

Generalization through statistical probability theoretical abstraction

Sampling requires large numbers selected randomly small numbers of cases chosen for specific reasons

Source: Easterby-Smith et al. (2002, p. 30)

In addition, Creswell (1994) stated that choosing either a quantitative or qualitative methodology may depend on the problem investigated. For example, the

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deductive process requires the verification or falsification of the hypotheses that have been developed from a theory-driven conceptualisation (Creswell, 1994). This means that when the problem can be conceptually identified and operationally testable, then the quantative methodology might be the right option to solve that problem.