ESTIMULOS QUE INICIAN LA CASCADA INFLAMATORIA

A phenomenological approach, also known as social constructionism or as the interpretivism approach, considers reality to be socially constructed and subjective in nature (Saunders et al., 2007). This approach aims to understand phenomena from the point of view of participants directly involved with the phenomenon under study (Cavaye, 1996) or from the actor’s own frame of reference (Bogdan and Taylor, 1975). The focus of such approach, therefore, is an appreciation of different constructions and meanings that participants attach to their experiences (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002). The fact that such participants’ interpretations are subjective suggests that these interpretations will be shaped by the participants’ experience in their particular contexts. Consequently, instead of searching for external causes and fundamental laws that explain behaviour, this approach focuses on what people, individually and collectively, are thinking and feeling with the aim of trying to understand and explain why people have different experiences (Easterby-Smith et al., 2008). This stance, therefore, favours research forms that enable the distinctive character of such contexts to be studied

(Nandhakumar and Jones, 1997). Researchers working with the phenomenological approach are more likely to work with qualitative data, investigating small samples in- depth or over time, and to use multiple methods to establish different views of phenomena (Easterby-Smith et al, 2002). Table (1) summarizes the main features of positivism and phenomenology including the basic beliefs underpinning each approach, the role played by the researcher and the preferred methods of analysis associated with each approach.

Table 1: Key features of the positivist and phenomenological paradigms

(Source adapted from Easterby-Smith et al., 2002)

Positivist paradigm Phenomenological paradigm Basic beliefs:  The world is external and

objective

 Observer is independent

 Science is value free

 The world is socially constructed and subjective

 Observer is part of what observed

 Science is driven by human interest

Researcher should:  Focus on facts

 Look for causality and fundamental laws

 Reduce phenomena to simplest elements

 Formulate hypotheses and then test them

 Focus on meaning

 Try to understand what is happening

 Look at the totality of each situation

 Develop ideas through induction from data

Preferred methods include:

 Operationalising concepts so that they can be measured

 Taking large samples selected randomly

 Using multiple methods to establish different views of phenomena

 Small samples selected carefully and investigated

 Experiments, surveys, case study, simulation, modelling

in-depth or over time

 Case study, ethnography, action research

Many researchers, e.g. Easterby-Smith et al. (2002) and Morgan (1988) have argued that the selection of a particular approach depends on the research objectives, research questions and the interests of the researcher. Given the explorative nature of this research in the specific context of the UAE and the aforementioned characteristics of the two approaches, the researcher proposes that the phenomenological approach, as opposed to the positivist paradigm, would be the appropriate approach to adopt in this research. Specifically for the following reasons:

 In terms of belief, the phenomenological paradigm embodies the belief that the world is socially constructed, subjective and that science is driven by human interests. These beliefs closely describe the context of this research in that resistance is a human reaction that is hard to identify and measure and is driven, among other reasons, by employees’ self-interests. This match between the characteristics of the context of this research and the beliefs, which underpin the phenomenological paradigm makes it a suitable paradigm to be adopted by this research.

 In terms of research activities, the phenomenological paradigm proposes that the researcher should try to understand the situation by focusing on meaning and by looking at the totality of each situation. The explorative nature of this study, the lack of current literature on the specific context of the UAE, and the need for the researcher to identify common causes of resistance and to understand how to overcome them requires the researcher to follow these proposals of the phenomenological paradigm. For example, the researcher firstly needs to understand the nature of the UAE job market in terms of demographics, employment laws and culture, etc. In other words, the researcher needs to look at the totality of the situation. Furthermore, resistance is often present in different forms and can be hard to identify thus requiring the researcher to focus on the

meaning of employee actions and whether such actions can be classified as resistance. These examples highlight the need for this research to carry out the same activities that are proposed by the phenomenological paradigm and, therefore, support the suitability of this paradigm for this research.

 In terms of methods, the phenomenological paradigm prefers using multiple methods to establish different views of a phenomenon and encourages the researcher to select samples carefully and to investigate them in-depth or over time. The hidden nature of resistance, the fact that it can take many forms and shapes and employees’ reluctance to talk about it requires the researcher to carefully select his/her samples such that employee actions are not misinterpreted as resistance when they are in reality a reaction to, for example, a poor information system. These characteristics of resistance also require the researcher to investigate cases in-depth so as to uncover the true motivations of employee actions and whether these actions represent a form of resistance. The suitability of these methods which are preferred by the phenomenological paradigm supports the adoption of this paradigm for this research.

 Figure (8) Illustration of the epistemological stance adopted by this diagram

Figure 8: The epistemological and Ontological stance adopted by this research

Positivism Phenomenology This Research Epistemology Objectivism Subjectivism This Research Ontology