Consideraciones finales del apartado

Crotty (1998) defines research methods as, “the techniques or procedures used to gather and analyse data related to some research question or hypothesis.” Garfinkel used interviews (primary data) and tape recordings of processes (secondary data) to analyse unfolding interactive process to establish the constituent expectations of order properties.

Interview methods are favourable methods of collecting primary data when, among other reasons, the research goal is to understand, attitudes, experiences, opinions, processes, and values, and where opportunities for prompting are required (Gray, 2013). They focus on the informant’s understanding rather than the accuracy of the interviewer’s account (Arksey and Knight, 1999).

Interviews can also capture non-verbal communication about deeper shared meaning through the

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awareness of the contextual nature of voice. Four basic modes of non-verbal communication are i) proxemics - use of interpersonal space to communicate, ii) chronemics – use of pacing of speech and length of silence in conversations, iii) kinetic – body movements or posture, and iv) paralinguistic – variations in volume, pitch, and quality of voice (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2010).

Qu and Dumay (2011) provide a detailed review of three interview types which are structured, unstructured and semi-structured interviews. Of these, semi-structured interviews are appropriate for this research. They involve prepared questioning guided by identified themes in a consistent and systematic manner interposed with probes designed to elicit more elaborate responses. The interviewer or interviewee may diverge to pursue an idea or response in detail (Gill et al., 2008).

Semi-structured interviews are used to take advantage of the flexibility to modify the style, pace, or sequence of questions to induce deep response from the interviewee on information that may not have been previously considered as important by the researcher.

Aspects of data sought from interviews included the coherence of action, mutual orientation to the object of transaction, and the identities of situated actors participating in a transaction. Face-to-face interviews were adopted for this research. Data on coherence of action could have been obtained by observing audio-video recordings of an interviewee’s everyday activity. However, there were practical challenges to obtaining this form of data since day-to-day transaction-related activities were hardly recorded. Alternatively, problem-centred interviews were employed. The aim of problem-centred interviews was to gather objective evidence on respondents’ behaviour, and subjective perceptions and ways of processing social reality (See Witzel, 2000). The researcher generated questions from formerly objective conditions of observed orientation and presented a disruptive context in a potential transaction to understand the respondent’s explanation of actions.

i. Research setting and participant selection

The foundation of this research was the premise that economic actions are social constructs of how vendors, buyers and brokers resolve market uncertainty through social interaction to exchange resources. This research was interested in understanding how brokers create and manage everyday social reality in office sale transaction activities. It was concerned about how client and actor networks were formed, sustained, and disbanded. The temporality of mutual orientation to the object of interaction in sale transaction was observed cross-sectionally. Data was collected over a 6-week period in each setting. South Africa interviews were conducted from early October 2015 to mid-November 2015. UK interviews were undertaken from early January 2016 to mid- February 2016 as well as between May and June 2017. Interviews were conducted at the interviewee’s work premises during normal working hours, a natural setting for the interviewee’s everyday activity.

119 Delimitations

The study limited its scope to commercial real estate sale transactions in South Africa and UK only, focusing on Johannesburg and London. The two markets were purposefully selected to investigate search processes in global cities with different levels of real estate investment market maturity. Keogh and D'Arcy (1994) describe real estate market maturity to be a demonstration of:

1) diverse investment culture and business environment accommodating a full range of corporate and investment objectives,

2) flexible market adjustments to shocks and regulatory constraints,

3) existence of sophisticated property profession with its associated institutions and networks, 4) extensive information flow and research activity,

5) market openness with respect to spatial, functional and sectoral activities, and 6) standardisation of property right and market practices.

Johannesburg is an emerging real estate market, with a developing market information system.

Major players in the global real estate market have presence in Johannesburg. South African real estate investors are involved not only in the local market, but have expanded into niche markets on African continent. In contrast, London is a mature global real estate market, with a well-developed market information system. Major market players in the London market also invest in mature markets in Europe, Asia and America. These two markets were expected to provide insight to the processes which facilitate private information exchange and create liquidity. The study did not cover other geographic markets, sectors, nor lease transactions in the sector.

ii. Units of investigation

Competence to perform intelligibly is necessary before an actor can make claims to be an identified actor to a particular situation. Both human and social capital contribute to an individual’s competence. In social network analysis, social capital – access to and ability to utilise information resources – matters more than human capital – individual skills, and knowledge.

Firms have capacity, though at different levels, to provide access to and facilitate the utilisation of information resources. The units of investigation were investment firms and/or property companies involved in brokerage. The units of analysis were transaction managers and brokers involved in sale transactions of commercial real estate investment assets.

iii. Sampling procedure

Since the purpose of interviews was to establish how the interviewee understood the issue under investigation, and not necessarily the accuracy of information, sampling focused on exhausting possible themes as opposed to frequency of returns. Qualitative samples were to be large enough to ensure that most of the perceptions that might be important would be uncovered. Sampling

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stopped when data became repetitive and no new themes were uncovered. Determining the number of participants in a study to reach saturation would depend on among other things the quality of data, scope of study, nature of topic, amount of useful information collected from each participant, number of interviews per participant, use of shadowed data, the qualitative method and research design used (Morse, 2000). There was no clear guidance from existing literature on sample size likely to generate saturation in research using ethnomethodology strategy. Table 5-3 below outlines suggested sample sizes for typical research methodologies.

Table 5-3: Sample Sizes for Qualitative Research

Methodology Authority Sample Size

Grounded theory Creswell (2012) 20 - 30

Morse (1994) 30 - 50

Ethnography Morse (1995) 30 - 50

Bernard (2000) 30 - 60

Phenomenology Creswell (2012) 5 - 25

Morse (1994) 6 -

All Qualitative Bertaux (1981) 15 -

Source: Adapted from Mason (2010), Guest et al. (2006)

Curtis et al. (2000) suggest that a researcher’s sampling strategy should be relevant to the conceptual framework and research question, generate rich information, be ‘generalisable’

(replicable), plausible, feasible, and ethical. At least 15 participants were targeted guided by Bertaux (1981). With this indication of the sample size, the next aspect to be considered was the sampling method. Coyne (1997) identifies ‘selective’, ‘purposeful’, and ‘theoretical’ sampling as the broad sampling techniques in qualitative research. Selective sampling is described as one involving a sampling a particular locale according to a preconceived, but reasonable initial set of dimensions such as time, space, identity, or power which are decided in advance. Theoretical sampling is a technique where a researcher simultaneously collects, codes, and analyses data in order to decide what data to collect next. The researcher may have some idea of where to sample, but not what to sample for or where it would lead. The study begins with a small sample and data collection continues until no new codes can be generated, at which point the sample would have reached theoretical saturation. Theoretical sampling is suitable for research in novel areas where grounded theory methodology would be appropriate. This research used purposeful sampling.

Marshall (1996) describes purposeful sampling as a technique where a researcher actively selects the most productive sample to answer the research question. It involves identifying and selecting individuals or groups of individuals that are knowledgeable about or experienced with the research issue. An additional importance of purposeful sampling is ensuring availability and willingness to participate in the research (Palinkas et al., 2013). Participants in this research were

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expected to be knowledgeable about or have experience in commercial real estate sale transactions in their local markets. They were anticipated to be accessible and be willing to participate by volunteering and not being directed. Participants were identified and invited through the researcher’s personal contacts and referrals.

iv. Specification

Babbie (2013) describes specification as a process through which a concept is made more specific to provide standards, consistency and commonality of the meaning terms used for the purpose of the research. Garfinkel’s argument that it is not adequate to read a final script in isolation of the signs of mistakes, erasures and cancellations on the scripts is consistent with Gotham (2006) contest that it is insufficient to conceptualise real estate market liquidity in isolation of the operational characteristics embedded in real estate transactions. Therefore, in an ethnomethodology typology, the sequential order properties of a real estate transaction process constitute the time on market phases. This research extended the argument to state that even though time on market had been adopted to reflect the operational nature of real estate transactions, research has largely focused on the examining variabilities in the stage durations rather than the processes creating liquidity in the markets.

To the extents that the sequential order properties of real estate transaction were accomplished through the interaction of ‘folks’, then understanding liquidity in commercial real estate markets should involve methodologies which elicit the way actors make sense of their contingencies in accomplishing sale transaction tasks including search, negotiation, closing, and transfer. The search period is the stage in which the relations (See Fligstein and Dauter, 2007 on aspect of economic sociology) seem to contribute to processes which create liquidity in commercial real estate market, and for this reason, this research focuses on the search stage.

Albrecht (2011), Kiefer (1988) and Stigler (1961) stress that intensifying search increases the likelihood of finding transaction counterparty, but its effectiveness depends on the visibility of the vendor to the demand-side. Economic exchange is a social interaction (see Granovetter, 1985 and Fligstein and Dauter, 2007) in which individuals sustain mutual orientation towards an exchange opportunity of a trading asset for the period it remains necessary. Competence to perform intelligibly is an important aspect an individual should possess to become an identified actor in the transaction. In a commercial real estate transaction, ‘competence to perform’

indicates the quality of the vendor’s behaviour. An ‘identifiable actor’ is a competent vendor that is ‘visible’ to potential buyers. Vendor search consequently is an action/interaction a vendor takes to be an identified actor with whom a potential purchaser mutually oriented to the trading asset can engage in exchange negotiations.

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Figure 5-5 below outlines the conceptual framework of how social networks could contribute to commercial real estate market liquidity. This is how the regions in the conceptual framework are explained:

Region 1: Vendor’s perception about market opportunities, and their reputation in the market as properties of contingencies

Region 2: Vendor’s information set about real estate market behaviour as dimensions of contingencies

Region 3: Vendor’s perception of information availability on identity of trading asset and self to potential buyers and of buyers’ perception of asset quality and vendor’s behaviour as conditions of contingencies

Region 4: Vendor’s formal (4a) and informal (4b) search methods, and search strategies (4c) as actions/interactions to intensify search

Region 5: Time on market being a consequence of vendor’s search strategy to be an identified actor

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Figure 5-5: Research Conceptual Model of Social Networks and Commercial Real Estate Market Liquidity

Source: Author 2015

124 5.3 DATA COLLECTION

This section describes in detail the study area, sample and how data was collected.