Saunders et al. (2007, p. 102) proposed a “research onion” approach which has been a useful tool in this research for planning and explaining how the philosophical approach may be mapped out as a pathway for data collection and data analysis. Figure 4.3 highlights the contrasting research philosophies which determine the corresponding pathway options for selecting the research strategy and research methods. Whilst this model was identified as one of the most comprehensive philosophical tool kits offered by authors, limitations were found. For example, the model mentions inductive and deductive as polar opposite views but misses abductive and retroductive approaches.
Figure 4.2: Research Onion as a Philosophical Toolkit with Selected Pathway for This Research (Developed from Saunders et al. 2007, p. 102).
Critical Realism Abductive Retroductive Epistemology/Ontology Axiology Triangulation
The abductive approach is selected for this research so it has been added to the figure. In terms of research philosophy, the model features realism and interpretivism but omits the critical realist option which is selected for this research; so again, this has been added to Figure 4.3. In addition, axiology or research ethics has been added along with epistemology and ontology. The figure indicates the research pathway selected for this research. The figure shows that the critical realist ontology leads to an abductive, mixed methods case study design utilising semi-structured interviews; these are further triangulated with questionnaires and other activities adapted from Chapter II. These are detailed later in this chapter.
Benton and Craib, (2001, p. 1) referred to philosophy as the “foundations for the research”, a view endorsed by Saunders et al. (2007) who emphasised that the research philosophy represented some important assumptions about the way in which the researcher viewed the world. However, all authors stressed that the process chosen for challenging these assumptions should be based on the practical considerations of conducting the research for developing existing knowledge.
Spencer (2000) was one of many authors who acknowledged that the philosophical terms, ontology and epistemology were frequently referred to in the wrong context. The problem, he argued, lay in distinguishing the study of being (ontology) from the study of knowing (epistemology). The researcher’s philosophical tool kit includes axiology, epistemology and ontology and. Each approach is now explained. The next section reflects on three aspects of research philosophy, axiology, epistemology and ontology to indicate how this research’s philosophical stance has been thought through.
4.4.1 Axiology
Axiology refers to the importance of reflecting on values and ethical issues (Benton and Craib, 2001; Saunders et al. 2007). Research ethics are considered later in this chapter; however, when embarking on new research it is important to remember that personal values will affect the research outcomes (Saunders et al. 2007). Ethics and values were relevant due to the timing of this research. In 2008, at the start of the research journey, the UK was experiencing an economic crisis affecting the UK economy and especially UK manufacturing. The difficult and prolonged economic situation, from 2008 onwards, presented challenges in designing the research and deciding on the most appropriate options for data collection. High levels of sensitivity were required when questioning industry participants when researching the UK touring caravan manufacturing industry which had already become a condensed market. At the time of interviewing (2009-2011) only six finished goods manufacturers remained trading in the UK touring caravan manufacturing industry. This meant that a large scale survey, which was the original intended tool for the research, would be difficult to
administer, manage and verify for a doctoral thesis. Instead, case studies presented a better option, allowing a deeper, more probing investigation through participant observations and interviewing.
4.4.2 Epistemology
Wallace and Wray (2007, p.4) emphasised, that rather than questioning “a matter of truth”, an academic critical review should question the viewpoints, interpretation and significance of the concepts used by authors.
In understanding the existing SCO and SCM knowledge base, research from authors such as Mentzer et al. (2001), Min and Mentzer (2004), Mello and Stank (2005) and Min et al. (2007) were reviewed. This confirmed that a consensus had been developed around the fact that there is a relationship between SCO and SCM, though there were few studies which included empirical evidence from the manufacturing context to support new developments in SCM and SCO theory. Esper et al. (2010) had conceptualised SCO into three pillars: strategy, structure and behaviours but less is known about the sub components of each of these in the SCO context. SCO is portrayed as a multiple construct (ibid.) but exactly how the constructs are made up and the specific behaviours required which support SCO is less clear.
Saunders et al. (2007, p.102) defined epistemology as examining the facts and objects as “what constitutes acceptable knowledge in a field of study”. “Epistemology tries to understand what it means to know”, whereas, “ontology embodies understanding what is” (Gray, 2014, p. 19). Therefore, the epistemological enquiry for this research project examined existing theories for supporting key concepts, SCM, SCO, strategic orientation and cross-functional coordination. In the supply chain context, authors have continued to debate the relevance of epistemological and ontological approaches which prompted an extensive literature review of supply chain ontology models by Grubic and Fan (2010). In their gap analysis, the authors accepted that an ontological philosophy in supply chain research was an important medium for problem solving, yet stressed that “more theory building through empirical or field based research is required” (ibid, 2007, p. 783). The authors further invited more industry specific findings for theory building, an area which this research has been engaged in. This confirms the earlier point made that more empirical evidence is required.
4.4.3 Ontological Position
Ideally, the researcher should consider new research projects from the perspective of objective ontology; identifying “what is reality”, and subjective epistemology; justifying “what can be accepted as real” (Saunders et al. 2007, p.102).
As mentioned, the development in the number of studies examining SCO which focus on firm behaviour is limited. An additional research gap is evident in assessing the impact on SCO when the business environment can be termed as turbulent. These research gaps were also recognised by Esper et al. (2010). The true and necessary pre-conditions of SCO which are largely theoretically-based developments remain to be sufficiently explored in the existing literature. More significantly, solutions to any problems identified in the implementation of strategic orientation have not been adequately explained to support current day management decision making.
Stratified Ontology - A stratified ontology was argued by Sayer (1992) as aligning with a critical realist approach. Figure 4.3 highlights the dimensions of a critical realist perspective which assumes that the real, the actual, and the empirical observations allow for the explication of causal powers (Ackroyd & Fleetwood, 2000; 2004).
Figure 4.3: A Critical Realist Approach to a Stratified Ontology (adapted from Ackroyd and Fleetwood, 2000; 2004).
4.4.4 Critical Realism
The foundations of critical realism were developed from studies by Bhaskar (1986) and Blaikie (1993). Critical realist studies seem to increase during the 1990s era and despite a broad range of research disciplines which utilise a critical realist perspective41, Easton (2010) still considers it to be a relatively new research orientation. During its early development, Andrew Sayer (1992) set out eight basic assumptions which remain useful for understanding a more in-depth appreciation of the critical realist perspective:
1) The world exists independently of our knowledge of it;
2) Our knowledge of the world is fallible and theory laden. Concepts of truth and falsity fail to provide a coherent view of the relationship between knowledge and its object. Nevertheless knowledge is not immune to empirical check and its effectiveness in informing and explaining successful material practice is not mere accident;
41 Economics, sociology, criminology, geography, linguistics, religious studies, history, psychiatry, social work, ecology,
environmental studies, law, information studies, interdisciplinary science studies and management studies – research disciplines examining critical realism identified by Easton (2010)
““AACCTTUUAALL EEVVEENNTTSS”” ““EEMMPPIIRRIICCAALL O
OBBSSEERRVVAATTIIOONNSS””
3) Knowledge develops neither wholly continuously as the steady accumulation of facts within a stable conceptual framework, nor discontinuously through simultaneous and universal changes in concepts;
4) There is necessity in the world: objects – whether natural or social – necessarily have particular powers or ways of acting and particular susceptibilities;
5) The world is differentiated and stratified, consisting not only of events, but objects, including structures, which have powers and liabilities capable of generating events. These structures may be present even where, as in the social world and much of the natural world, they do not generate regular patterns of event;
6) Social phenomena such as actions, texts and institutions are concept dependent. We not only have to explain their material effects but to understand, read or interpret what they mean. Although they have to be interpreted by starting from the researchers own frames of meaning, by and large they exist regardless of researchers’ interpretation of them;
7) Science or the production of any kind of knowledge is a social practice. For better or worse (not just worse) the conditions and social relations of the production of knowledge influence its content;
8) Social science must be critical of its object. In order to be able to explain and understand social phenomena we have to evaluate them critically.
(Sayer’s Eight Basic Assumptions, developed from Easton, 2010, p. 119-120)
In support of a stratified ontology, critical realism has been termed as “an extension of realism” combining elements of positivism and relativism (Robson, 2002, p. 29). As the “Research Onion” featured earlier in Figure 4.3 suggests, realism is one of ten contrasting research philosophies proposed by Saunders et al. (2007). Bryman (2008) noted that a complementary philosophy to realism is social constructionism. Both critical realism and social constructionism focus on reality, accepting that the reality process is ongoing and in a state of continual flux (ibid.). As a critical realist researcher one is expected to gain a deeper understanding of social structures that exist (Bhaskar, 1978; Benton and Craib, 2001); this is whilst embracing the challenges of complexity and accepting that change is certain (Stacey, 2003). Critical realism has continued to be criticised as an under developed approach for ontological, epistemological and axiological approaches which prompts the need for further research. Critical realism has been described as “a way forward” by motivating the researcher to look beyond the realms of reality (Easton, 2010, p. 119).
“Critical realists argue that in the real world there are entities, such as organisations, which have powers to act and are liable to be acted upon by others. These entities can also have internal
structures, such as departments and individuals which in their turn, have their own powers” (Easton, 2010, p.128)
As case study research has been criticised for lacking philosophical validation, Easton (2010) proposed that a critical realist approach was a well suited approach.
A critical realist approach requires the researcher to investigate a research phenomenon as a research question and further probe as to what causes the situation to happen (Easton, 2010); hence the need for how type questions proposed in this study. By considering the distinctions and definitions offered by Sayer (1992), Robson (2002), Saunders et al. (2007), Bryman (2008) and Easton (2010), utilising the “research onion” model proposed by Saunders et al., a critical realist philosophy is a clear choice for this research.
Adopting a critical realist approach for this research encourages the researcher to look beyond the definitions of each concept and explore the how aspects of the questions. This requires the development of a deeper and more critical understanding of behavioural, contextual and environmental issues which may impact on SCO and SCM and associated decision making within the UK Touring Caravan Manufacturing Industry. Critical realists have argued there may be some realities which influence behaviours and that “many entities exist independently of us and our investigation of them” (Ackroyd and Fleetwood, 2000 p. 6). Grubic and Fan (2010, p.784) criticised that ontological models have previously focused too much on the organisation and structuring of human knowledge in supply chains, “rather than understanding the reality of supply chains”. They argued that supply chains “are mistakenly taken as a unit of analysis” and instead new research should focus on the product, service and information flows across organisations within a supply chain as a unit for analysis (ibid.).
Adopting the critical realist ontology forces the researcher to accept that situations are subject to change and therefore, observations of events with real causes are further endorsed by providing empirical understanding. A Google Scholar search42 revealed there had been 222 published studies since 2009 mentioning critical realism with SCM yet none had actually linked critical realism with SCO. A further search was conducted in March 2015 showing no new results.
4.5 Strategic Position
Bryman and Bell (2007) noted that the research philosophy and approach selected by the researcher underpins the research strategy and creates the third layer of the research design (Saunders et al. 2007). The third layer is known as the strategic position or research approach (ibid.). The authors classified the research approach as supported by either deductive or inductive reasoning as polarised entities. However, Kovacs and Spens (2005) and Mason (2007) argued that when developing new theory, this
required greater emphasis than the process of induction. Mason (2007) proposed three distinct research models for linking the philosophical positions in social science:
Deductive reasoning - theory comes first, before empirical research and analysis. Data is tested against clear hypotheses proposed at the start of the research.
Inductive reasoning - theory comes last, with data analysis and theoretical sampling used to drive the explanations which fit.
Abductive research - theory, data collection and data analysis are managed simultaneously to develop theory.
Whilst similarities exist between the three approaches, as suggested by Mason (2007), there are distinct characteristics for each one as follows:
The deductive approach tests existing theory on real life observations and requires a positivist philosophy and quantitative research methods for theory testing (Dooley, 2009). Empirical studies and mathematical models can build and test theory using an inductive or deductive research approach (ibid.). To demonstrate this, Dooley classified operations and supply chain studies as a dichotomy, falling into either modelling or empiricism. However, mathematical models have been criticised by empiricists as far too removed from reality and therefore weaken theory development. Dooley (2009) argued that empiricism and modelling should not be different; such debates continue. The deductive, positivist approach was dismissed for this study as it is less probing with limitations as far as understanding root causes of problems.
In contrast, a subjective inductive approach requires a qualitative method for testing the research hypotheses being created (Danermark et al. 2001). This approach supports the interpretive or critical realist view and is better suited to the grounded theory approach (Mason, 2007). However, Kelle, (1995) stressed it is impossible to work from a blank canvas and therefore a third approach becomes relevant for investigation: the process of abduction. Chapter I highlighted five influential UK manufacturing reports which revealed issues with understanding how protecting UK manufacturing could add tremendous value to the wider manufacturing supply chain. This key finding led to the early introduction of key concepts for examination in this thesis. For this reason, the inductive approach was dismissed in favour of an abductive approach.
The abductive approach established by Blaikie (2000) was founded on a similar method to inductive research relying primarily upon existing prior knowledge and theory testing. However, as highlighted in Figure 4.4 an abductive approach requires an iterative process relying on repeated empirical observations to ensure the resulting framework is well supported. Mason (2007) argued that pure forms of each process are unlikely. The author acknowledged a fourth option: a retroductive approach which characteristically falls between a deductive and inductive research approach. Retroductive based
studies examining the supply chain are rare43 but a few studies were identified. Peck (1998) applied case studies for developing a framework of relationship marketing, Holweg and Miem (2003) investigated the three-day car production challenge, Meehan and Wright (2011) examined the origins of power in buyer-supplier relationships and a published thesis by Achimugu (2007), examined manufacturers’ strategic response to manage fragmented networks. This approach seemed an indecisive and under developed method not suited for the case study design being employed. Hence, it was not selected for this research.
The lack of a clear consensus on appropriate research approaches to support theory development in supply chain research was recognised by Kovacs and Spens (2005). The authors examined inductive, deductive and abductive research approaches and the search findings which support this can be seen in Appendix 7. All three approaches have been adopted in existing supply chain research yet the abductive approach is less developed, hence, Kovacs and Spens invited future researchers to consider an abductive approach in support of theory development in supply chain studies. In gaining a better understanding of exactly how the abductive approach had been applied in SCM research, Table 4.2 highlights findings for the number of published papers examining both SCM and abductive research philosophy since 2005. To further justify the use of the abductive approach, two database searches using Google Scholar and Metalib44 found that only a few authors had addressed the research gap identified by Kovacs and Spens (2005) between 2005 and 201245. The two databases were used for improving the reliability of the results. There were only 74 documents found using the Metalib database search and 132 documents using Google Scholar. The search revealed that amongst the supply chain studies noted in Table 4.2, once the results were filtered, the terms inductive, deductive and abductive were usually only briefly mentioned rather than explained and applied in detail as an approach being adopted.
SEARCH ENGINE “inductive approach” AND “supply chain management” “deductive approach” AND “supply chain management” “abductive approach” AND “supply chain management” Google
Scholar46 “About 365” articles with both of these terms
anywhere in the text
“About 268” with both of these terms anywhere in the
text
“About 132” with both of these terms anywhere in the
text Metalib 80 documents
(Published between 2007 and March 2012)
28 documents
(Published between 2007 and March 2012)
74 documents (Published between 2007
and March 2012) Table 4.2: Number of SCM studies discussing the research philosophy (2005 - 2012).
43Search conducted 06/02/12 using Google Scholar with terms, “retroductive approach” AND “supply chain management”
44 Metalib searches multiple electronic sources: ABI/ Inform/ Business Source Premier (EBCSO)/ Econlit (EBSCO)/ Ingenta Connect/ JSTOR
Arts & Sciences/ NBER Working Papers/ ScienceDirect/ SCOPUS/ Web of Science
45 Search conducted 06/02/12 using Google Scholar – terms in the searches include “inductive approach” AND “supply chain management”
“deductive approach” AND “supply chain management” “abductive approach” AND “supply chain management”
On closer reflection of these search findings, it was found that authors may have mentioned these approaches but not necessarily applied or explained the philosophical term. Figure 4.4 summarises the deductive, inductive and abductive research approaches, the latter of which is circled and selected for this research.
Figure 4.4: Three Approaches to Research (Developed from Kovacs and Spens, 2005; Mason, 2007)
Only one study was identified by Randall and Mello (2012) where the authors adopted a grounded theory and inductive approach for researching supply chain related issues. In contributing to addressing this gap, an abductive approach was selected for this study. Its planned application is presented in Table 4.3:
STAGES OF THE ABDUCTIVE APPROACH
PLANNED APPLICATION TO THIS RESEARCH
Prior theoretical knowledge deviates to real life observations
Chapter I – Preliminary literature study was matched with five manufacturing reports to reveal key concepts for examination. A short background study examined the supply chain related challenges facing