Selección de sensores y actuadores de control para el sistema airbag

Data can be collected in many different ways. There are three methods of data collection in quantitative research (Sekaran 1992). Interviewing, self-administered questionnaires that are personally administered, or sent through the post, and observation. The choice of data collection method depends on the facilities available to the researcher, the degree of accuracy required, the expertise of the researcher, the time span of the study, and other costs and resources associated with and available for data gathering (Sekaran 1992). Mail questionnaires are less expensive and less time consuming than interviewing (Sekaran 1992) and are a more efficient and accurate means of assessing information about the population (Zikmund 1984). For the purposes of this research a mail questionnaire was used so that a wide geographical area could be covered.

The development of the database was the first stage of the research project, which was necessary to identify the number and nature o f UK international strategic alliances (see chapter 3). The second stage required the collection of primary data through a mail questionnaire. Prior to the administration of the questionnaire, an initial enquiry with either the company secretary or senior personnel was made by telephone, to confirm names and addresses of the UK firms involved in strategic alliances. An attempt was also made to ascertain whether or not selected firms had been involved in the alliance. This was necessary because of the lack of reliable data on UK international strategic alliances available from published sources. This provided a means of correctly identifying strategic alliances.

Questionnaires were mailed to 450 alliances, addressed to either a senior executive who was or had been involved in the alliance or to a named person provided by the

initial inquiry. Each letter outlined the aims of the research and promised

confidentiality and a copy of the findings of the study as an inducement to participate (see Appendix 1 for a copy of the letter). The questionnaires were mailed to the respondents, with self-addressed, stamped return envelopes. Three weeks after the mailing of the questionnaires telephone calls were made to all firms to whom questionnaires had been sent.

4.4.1 Response Rate

Improving mail survey response rates, and reducing response bias have been the focus of numerous research studies (Saxton 1997; Lee and Beamish 1995; Moorman et al 1993). In conducting quantitative research, researchers are concerned with the overall response rate to a survey and the ability to apply the findings to a larger population. To utilise the results, the researcher must take account of non-response error by being sure of whether non-respondents hold significantly different attitudes and opinions from those held by the survey respondents (Zikmund 1984). There are a number of criteria which can be used to ensure higher response rates, including layout and presentation of questionnaire, inclusion of a covering letter, using the respondents name, stamped addressed envelope, a copy of the results (Tull and Hawkins 1990). However, the effect of these are generally small (McCrohan and Lowe 1986; Dommeyer et al 1985; Yu and Cooper 1985). According to Chebat and Picard (1984) an initial enquiry usually by telephone to inform the respondent that they will receive a questionnaire and requesting their cooperation can increase the response rate.

From the 450 questionnaires mailed 287 responses (63.7%) were received. A total of 114 completed questionnaires were received representing a usable response rate of 25.3%. In the light of previous research, this can be said to be a good response rate (Mohr and Spekman 1994), and was likely to have been influenced by the initial enquiry by telephone to each firm to inform respondents that they would receive a

questionnaire. Nonetheless, the response was lower than hoped for since all

respondents who failed to reply had initially agreed to participate in the study. This may have been due to the lengthy nature of the questionnaire and time of year. The 173 respondents who returned uncompleted questionnaires are analysed in Table 4.4.

Table 4.4: Analysis of International Strategic Alliances which declined to Co-operate

Reason for Non-Response Number of Firms Percentage Total

Alliance terminated/acquired 83 48.0%

Contractual confidentiality 38 22.0%

Heavy work load 27 15.6%

Agreement not a strategic alliance 12 6.9%

Agreement did not materialise 13 7.5%

Total 173 100.0%

Apart from the 27 firms who did not complete the questionnaire due to a heavy workload, all 146 firms provided significant reasons for being unable to complete the questionnaires. Eighty-three of the firms, which declined to co-operate, declared the alliance had been terminated and that senior management who had been involved in

the alliance were no longer with the company. Despite the assurances of

confidentiality 38 firms declined to co-operate because the terms of the agreement did not allow them to disclose proprietary information regarding their relationship with their partner. Artisien (1985) also noted this finding in his research on joint

ventures in Yugoslavia. It was interesting to note that 12 firms did not co-operate because they claimed that their agreement did not constitute a strategic alliance. This may be because varied interpretations of the term strategic alliance exist even within the academic literature. These firms were involved in joint ventures, but did not consider them to be strategic hence their unwillingness to participate in the study.