| Abstrakt: |
The purpose of this paper is to examine the application of General analytical inductive qualitative approach within the field of entrepreneurship and management research. It critically assesses the research design and analytical processes that facilitated the development of a framework for understanding how small enterprises (SEs) grow and develop in turbulent economies. The study adopts a qualitative research design unlike the dominant quantitative designs in studying small enterprises. An Interpretivist approach (Blaikie, 2007) guided this study to understand (verstehen) how people make sense of their world where human actions are based upon the actor's interpretation of events, social meanings, intentions and beliefs (Gill and Johnson 2010; Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). In this research, therefore, as individuals the owners/Entrepreneurs of Small Enterprises were thought likely to view the phenomenon of growth and development differently in a turbulent economy. The research design followed Thomas's (2006) analytic inductive approach and the outcomes of this paper demonstrates how an analytical inductive analysis, that is a systematic procedure of data analysis and refers to detailed readings and interpretations of raw data, can be rigorously used to drive the identification of concepts, themes, and models. Sri Lanka, as a turbulent economy, was the context of this research. Data was collected from Sri Lankan small enterprises throughout one year period using 21 in-depth interviews and 7 informal conversations in three phases. As a part of data analysis, interviews were transcribed and a provisional list of common features and divergent cases identified. Then similarities between categories were established. Deviant features were accommodated either by linking them with other common features or by generating a new category with unique feature. Eventually, cross case analysis within and between data from SEs led to the emergent of themes, which forms the discussions section of the study. This process was followed with the aim to 1) condense extensive and varied raw text data into a brief, summary format; and 2) to establish clear links between the research objectives and the summary findings derived from the raw data and to ensure that these links are both transparent and justifiable given the objectives of the research (Thomas, 2006). The challenges of this method of data analysis are also discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
