La Real Academia de Medicina y Cirugía de Galicia

A survey forms an integral part of the research methodology of this study. In deciding to take the survey route, some of the rationales considered include the following.

Table 4.3 Strengths of the survey approach

Strengths of the survey approach

1. can be used profitably in the examination of many social topics and can be especially effective when combined with other methods

2. survey data facilitate the careful implementation of logical understanding

3. the fact that the survey format permits a clear and rigorous elaboration of a logical model clarifies the deterministic system of reasons for, and sources of, observed events, characteristics, correlations and cause and effect

4. a survey is conducted for purposes of describing not only the particular sample under study, but also for purposes of understanding the larger population from which the sample was originally selected

5. because of the various variables at their disposal, survey researchers can carefully examine the relative importance of each and obtain the greatest amount of understanding from the fewest number of variables

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4.4.1 Questionnaire for this study

A questionnaire was used to collect data. One of the reasons for settling for this method is its ability to be used on a large number of small enterprises’ owner managers, who are representative of a wider population for the purpose of addressing the quantitative and qualitative research questions of the study.

The specific method of data collection were questionnaires that were be sent by personal contact with the SME owner-managers or via e-mail for a few respondents. The postal system in Zimbabwe was not efficient enough to use the postal route, hence the personal contact option. One advantage of the questionnaire is that it is generally cheaper to administer than a large sample of standardised interviews for instance (Saunders et al., 2009).

4.4.2 Questionnaire design

It is of paramount importance that a questionnaire is designed appropriately. A poor questionnaire design results in the collection of data that is irrelevant for the intended analysis (Yin, 2009). As is common in business management studies, the questionnaire design was mainly based on a review of literature (Creswell and Clark, 2011). Before finalising on the questionnaire, some input was obtained from presentations to academics and also from interviews with small enterprises owner managers as well as postgraduate students.

Questionnaire questions were framed around research objectives, questions and the contingency approach. Literature emphasises the importance of a pilot survey as part of the development of a survey instrument (Saunders et al.,2009). A pilot study was then conducted with five SME owner managers. De Vaus (1996) notes that for a pilot survey to be effective, it should be tested on people who are similar to the intended sample respondents or participants.

86 Accordingly, SME owner managers were picked to form the pilot group of respondents. The pilot owner managers were requested to indicate: -

• whether they faced difficulties in grasping the contents of the questionnaire • whether the contents were relevant to their organisation and to this research • whether it was easy to read the questions

• whether they had any suggestions for further improving the questionnaire

The Researcher also had the mandate to:

• ensure that the format of the questionnaire was user-friendly • check practical issues such as data coding

• ensure that the final instrument contained relevant questions only

Comments from the pilot were important in reshaping and reorganising the questionnaire, and giving it a more logical flow of questions. Following the said amendments, a second round of questionnaire testing was carried out with three owner managers and two academics whose feedback suggested that the questionnaire was ready for the field. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first section looked at basic and screening questions on the industry type in which the respondent firm is, newness of firm, total employment and income figures. The second section looked primarily at the formality of planning of respondent organisations.

The choice to make use of e-mail and a hand-to-hand approach was reached on account of the following factors:

The postal infrastructure in Zimbabwe was not at its best therefore sending questionnaires by post was not an attractive option. The option to email was only used with a few, otherwise the majority of the small business community face challenges accessing email due to persistent network problems as well as not having the computers onsite that are connected to the internet. In many cases, business owners have to visit an internet café to access email and printing as well as for scanning services which are paid for. This could load respondents with extra expenses, potentially reducing the response rate. In the circumstances, the hand to hand approach, in the main, had to be employed.

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4.4.3 Limitations of questionnaire surveys

Surveys have a number of weaknesses, which this study attempted to circumvent. Low response rates is one of the limitations which this study has tried to avoid by mainly employing a hand to hand questionnaire administration approach. According to Saunders et al., (2009), one major limitation with questionnaires is that of non-response, particularly when respondents have no special interest in the subject being researched on. The approach to have owner managers only as the respondents ensured that respondents were interested as planning and performance are normally interesting subjects to firm owners. The questionnaire pilot tests (Creswell and Clarke, 2011) removed ambiguities that could confuse respondents thereby increasing the rate of response errors. The questionnaire length was kept at a minimal to avoid boredom on the part of respondents. In this regard, only research specific questions were included in the questionnaire. This is in consistence with Saunders et al., (2009) who recommend objectively exhaustive but precise questionnaires.

4.4.4 Interviews

The interview approach was mainly chosen to address the qualitative aspect and get deeper insights on strategic management practices of SMEs in Zimbabwe. The ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions constitute a greater part of the interviews (Saunders et al., 2009) while also exploring the extent to which the contingency approach is applicable in the Zimbabwean scenario. One advantage of interviews is that they provide flexibility for the researcher especially where complex issues are being addressed as various forms of questions can be utilised to enhance understanding (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998). Supporting the foregoing, Creswell and Clark (2011) note that using interviews simplify seemingly difficult or confusing questions through repeating or rephrasing same. Literature identifies three types of interview, being structured, semi-structured and unstructured (Yin, 2009). This study used semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews allow the researcher to ask various types of questions to get the same information from interviewees. Despite its benefit of being direct and giving the

88 researcher a chance to focus on particular objects, the structured interview was avoided due to its unsuitability for the aim and objectives of this research.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty four SME owner managers to unravel deeper insights on strategy formulation. In choosing interviews as one of the research approaches, some of the advantages of the approach which the researcher was mindful of include the possibility of immediate follow up and clarification, interviewees can expand upon and justify their responses and the researcher can probe and pursue interesting issues that may arise during the course of the interview (Saunders et al., 2009).

4.4.4.1 Interview design

Since the interviews came at the second stage of data collection, they were developed from the questionnaire. Participants would have responded to the questionnaire before, hence this stage would be seeking finer details to extract deeper insights therefrom. The questions generally took an open ended format to allow participants sufficient space for free expression of their ideas and opinions without restraint (Saunders et al., 2009). Questions were also prepared according to the research objectives and literature review findings.

Major areas addressed by the interviews included: -

• establishing whether firms indulged in outright non-planning, prescriptive, emergent or prescriptive-emergent planning paradigms

• obtaining reasons for adopting non-planning or a particular strategic management approach

• For planners, the tools of strategy formulation used

• How the contingent variables like newness of firm and environmental volatility affect strategy formulation

• Probing further on responses given in the questionnaire like on performance indicators The interview schedule was taken through pilot testing (Saunders et al., 2009) with three SME owner managers before finalisation on same. Feedback from the pilot was useful in reviewing the schedule before fieldwork commencement.

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