4
Case Studies
4.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE CASE STUDIES
In this chapter we describe the research methods used for the matched interview stage of the study. We first describe how the nine case companies were selected and approached and also the interview techniques employed and the process for agreeing the stories with the interviewees. Section 4.3 sets out the broad approach taken to the analysis, including a brief explanation of grounded theory and how this theory is applied to the cases. Details of how each case story was written up are provided in section 4.4. This is followed in sections 4.5 and 4.6 by a description of the preliminary within-case analysis. Finally, we include a tabular summary of the general local context and the interaction issues in each of the nine cases (section 4.7).
4.2 HOW THE CASE COMPANIES WERE SELECTED AND APPROACHED
The cases were identified from the questionnaire study. The results of the questionnaire which are relevant to the specific objectives of this study are in Chapter 3. As part of the questionnaire, respondents were asked ‘Would you be willing to be interviewed by one of the researchers, at a time convenient to you, to enable the issues to be explored in more detail?’ A total of 39 CFOs, 33 ACCs and 78 AEPs agreed in principle to be interviewed. It had been decided initially to include ten cases within the project, in line with suggested norms for case study research in the literature (Eisenhardt, 1989).
As we needed permission from the directors ...
