La Teoría de los Hechos Consumados o Cumplidos Debe

The research process started with a conventional postal survey targeting a population of 1 80 export firms in the Manawatu area drawn from a database compiled by the local economic development agency Vision Manawatu. The questionnaire (Appendix 1 ) was prepared using questions that evolved from themes identified in the literature review (Da Silva & Da Rocha, 200 1 ; Shaw & Darroch, 2004; Simmons, 2002; Suarez-Ortega, 2003). The survey targeted the person who was in charge of export, in particular the export manager. Completed questionnaires provided information about the firms while also facilitating access to further data gathering by an item asking respondents whether they were willing to be interviewed (Q.35 & 36, Appendix 1 ).

Fifty-four finns (30%) returned the mail survey. Once data from the survey was analysed, follow up in-depth interviews and on-site visits were conducted. Thus a sequence of methods emerged using the various methods in the following order: mail survey, background search, and in-depth interviews with on-site observation visits of forty-eight finns; two interviews were conducted by telephone due to the respondent being outside of the Manawatu region.

The interviews facilitated the gathering of rich data for the case studies, providing a complementary data source to the survey and background searches. Three finns had to be excluded from the list of the fifty-four finns that returned questionnaires. This was because the finns were contacted erroneously having never exported or they had ceased to export. The remaining fifty-one finns were contacted by telephone and follow-up interviews were arranged with forty-eight of them being on-site visits. One interview was re-scheduled several times but did not eventuate as the owner manager could not find the time. Interview participants included general managers, managers, and owner-managers who contributed to the interviews, a final total of fifty.

All the interviews were conducted during a four months period from February to May 2005 and all of the interviews were carried out by the researcher herself. The respondents gave consent on the basis that the finn's name would not appear in the report and that their identity would remain anonymous to readers. The interviews had no time limits and lasted between fifteen minutes to more than three hours, typically lasting longer than sixty minutes. Why did these variations of interview duration occur? As a matter of principle, the researcher would leave the interview only after all her questions had been answered satisfactorily and no further infonnation could be expected to emerge. There was, however, one particular interview where this strategy did not work. During this interview, and it was by far the shortest lasting only fifteen minutes, the interviewee seemed defensive. He answered questions evasively and it became obvious that he did not want to reveal details about the finn(s) involved. The interviewer felt that the interview process was rather laboured and that crucial infonnation was withheld. Immediately after the interview the researcher considered the interview as 'failed' and discharging the case from the project. Looking back at the experience of that interview the researcher wondered about the person's motivation and reason why the person agreed to being interviewed. Eventually the

data on the tape (of fifteen minutes) was very thoroughly examined and the analysis of both, the interview and the remaining data, provided great insights into the importance of networks for the service industry. Indeed, the case turned out to be very useful and that although the interview was rather short and seemed unsatisfactory at first. This case in particular showed that applying triangulation to all of the collected data proved to be extremely valuable.

While the mail survey questions focussed on the barriers to growth, for the interviews it made sense to specify the research question further: "What are your export barriers and how do you manage to overcome these?" For active exporters, export hurdles do not function as absolute barriers. Exporting firms are able to overcome common barriers specific to their industries. Firms operating in the same industry achieve varying degrees of export success. Insights into the export practices and an

exploration of how they deal with their barriers were the objective of the interviews.

To achieve consistency the questionnaire structure set down in Appendix 1 was followed. The schedule enabled the researcher to pursue clarification on ambiguous responses from the questionnaire including items from observation and the background search. Most participants shared the wish to improve New Zealand' s economic situation. This became a platform for further conversation about their products and services, and their specific export issue including information about product customisation for specific markets. Eventually the dialogue led to the subject of selection of export markets and suitability of export product. It was necessary to understand both the person behind the business and the business itself. The researcher's goal was to become familiar with business goals and strategies including insights into the managerial decision making processes and rationale behind them. Most interviewees were open and willing to assess their success in international markets in general terms; quantifying statements about firm turnover or profit were less frequent. The researcher drew on the interviewees' experience, creativity and lateral thinking and this gave room for spontaneous and often novel responses.

The strategy for the interviews was to achieve a balance between broader questions and more specific ones, in order to clarify points that were unclear without interrupting the flow. Good interviews need complete attention on the interviewee

and the ability to register non-verbal messages and use them as tools for verification. While open questions were being asked, the scope of the answer was left entirely to the respondent. Doing so resulted in better and richer information. In most cases the person interviewed could then be asked specific questions such as the manager's educational qualifications and expertise without causing offence.

Two of the fifty interviews had to be conducted by telephone as one interviewee was out of the country during the months of the interviews and another had been relocated to Hamilton (which is outside the Manawatu region). In both of these cases the data gathered via telephone interview was somewhat less complete than for the face-to­ face interviews.

In general the interviewees were supportive of this study and offered their time and input generously. It was the researchers practice to take the original survey questionnaire back to the interview, then hand it to the respondent to read and inspect before the start of each interview session. This emphasised the importance of their information in a situation where most managers resented surveys, receiving them on a regular basis. Several subjects pointed out that they had never received any feedback on research where they had been involved. In order to address this perceived shortcoming, and to retain the confidence of the participants, a public feedback session was organised where the participants were informed about the results and could discuss the outcomes of the study.