The Treatment of Complex Literatures within the structure of a PhD.

1
The Treatment of Complex Literatures within the
structure of a PhD.

• Professor Gus Geursen

School of Marketing University of South Australia
2
Literature on thesis writing related to marketing

• Chad Parry (1998),
• A structured approach to presenting a thesis. AMJ
  6(1) 63-85 and Commentary by Uncles (1998)
• Adams and White (1994)
• Dissertation Research in Public Administration
  an Assessment of Methods and Quality PAR 54(6)
  6565-576
• Clark (1965)
• Writing up the Doctorial Thesis GMR 25-31

3

• Cooper (1989)
• Integrated Research a guide for Literature
  Reviews. Sage
• Krathwohl (1977)
• How to prepare a research proposal University of
  Syracuse
• Phillips and Pugh (1994)
• How to Get a PhD Open University Press

4
Sources of material for this seminar

• In order to demonstrate my discussion of
  literature I will use a thesis
• A internal conceptual model of the small firm
• Other thesis referred to are by Dr Phil Hellier,
  Dr Liz Hempill and my other past and present
  students.

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The Structure of the thesis as an argument

• Chapter 1 Introduction and overview of this
  thesis
• Chapter 2 Issues in defining
• Chapter 3 Literature review
• Chapter 4 Research method
• Chapter 5 Active research Your Work
• Chapter 6 Active research Your Work
• Chapter 7 Active research Your Work
• Chapter 9 Conclusions, implications and
  identification of further research.
  Fitting it back into the literature

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Chapter 1 Introduction and overview of this
dissertation

• Introduces the thesis.
• Provides a general context from a discipline
  perspective and a general perspective.
• Why is it important to study this area.
• What is being explored.
• What are the fundamental question/s explored in
  the thesis.
• What is the scope of the thesis.

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Chapter 2 Issues in defining..

• This is your opportunity to define your terms and
  to justify your definitions.
• This chapter can also be used to establish any
  unusual words/language in the thesis.
• If well written the chapter will act as a
  reference for the reader to progress from.

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Chapter 3 Literature review

• The heart of the thesis and subject of this
  seminar

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Chapter 4 Research method

• Will flow out of literature chapter but also have
  its own literature
• Composition
• The research questions
• Issues in the research approach
• The research philosophy of this dissertation
• Implications of the research philosophy
• Stages in research for this dissertation
• Stage 3 Case studies
• Stage 4 Empirical substantiation

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Chapter 9 Conclusions, implications and
identification of further research

• Introduction
• Contribution of the conceptual model to business
  literature
• Contribution of the model components to business
  literature
• Further research
• Conclusion

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Structure of the thesis

• Chapter 1 Introduction and overview of this
  dissertation
• Chapter 2 Issues in defining small business
• Chapter 3 Literature review
• Chapter 4 Research method
• Chapter 5 The firm as a generative and an
  extractive phenomenon
• Chapter 6 The cashflow component model
• Chapter 7 The generative component of the firm
• Chapter 9 Conclusions, implications and
  identification of further research

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What you need to comment on

• What has been said.
• Overall
• Specifically
• Q. What and how is it related to my problem
• What has been concluded
• Specifically
• Generally
• What is its substance
• Q. What and how is it related to my problem

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Engaging a literature regardless whether it is
complex or simple

• What needs to be covered.
• Range of aspects
• Range of literatures
• What and how is it related to my problem

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Problems

• What should be in ?
• What should be out?
• How do you produce a transparent argument

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Steps in managing a complex literature

• Step 1 Scoping the literature
• Step 2 Grasping the Literature Analytically
• Step 3 bring the story together

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Step 1 Scoping the literature

• Survey the general area and do it carefully as
  misses will come back and bite you
• Search carefully and extensively. If you find a
  paper that arrears relevant look at its
  references and pick up the authors who are
  frequently quoted.
• Search widely and preferably cross discipline.
• Search chronologically.

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eg Liz HemphillAn examination of agent-principal
relationship establishment The case of Real
Estate

Specific parameters and definitions of the agency
relationship remedies for







-
Principals decision to
Gap filled by this thesis

commit (Bagozzi 2000 Bagozzi Dholakia 1999)


(Singh 200
0 Sitkin


Boundaries, drivers

Roth 1993)




-
Agency relationship
agency relationship





Jensen 1994b Jensen

-
Agent behaviour

-
Drivers of agent behaviour







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Eg Sarans thesis
Resource-Based Theory
Relationship between firm resources and
performance (Barney 2001 Collis 1991)
i.e. export barrier internal to the
firms and export performance (e.g.
Bauerschmidt et al. 1985 Da Silva and Da
Rocha 2001 Katsikeas et al.1996)
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Trade Theory and Development Economics Role of
skill-intensity, macro-level environmental
factors and organizational factors (Czinkota et
al. 1998 Deardorf 1984) i.e. absolute advantage
(Smith 1776), comparative advantage (Ricardo
1819), factor proportion (Leontief 1950 Ohlin
1967), demand similarity (Linder 1961),
technology gap (Posner 1961), skill gap (Hirsch
1967), product cycle (Vernon 1966), market
imperfect (Krugman 1990), competitive advantage
of nations (Porter 1990), modified factor
proportion (Wood 1994), resource-advantage (Hunt
and Morgan 1995) development economics (Hymer
1972 Schumpeter 1952 Stiglitz 1996 2002
UNCTAD 2002)
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Invaluable discoveries

• Look for scope though
• Themes.
• Patterns
• Areas covered and missed.
• Especially look for the invaluable contributions
  such as citation analysis, broad studies which
  provide overviews of an area. If you cannot find
  these you will have to develop them yourself so
  look very carefully.

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Some useful hints

• Look for any summary analysis, literature reviews
  such as a citation analysis or extensive lit
  review paper
• Academy of Management Review.
• Journal of Accounting Literature.
• Journal of Economic Literature
• Look for mega analysis.
• Read the lit review sections of the good papers
  and see if anyone has taken a holistic view.

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An example of a literature scope Taken from A
conceptual model of the small firm
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An existing paperAn Empirical analysis of small
business literature
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Figure 3.2 Subjects in journal/academic articles
exerting the greatest impact on contemporary
small enterprise research
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Make comments of what you observe provided they
are justified for example

• After figure 3.1 classification
• On the basis of these comments it is not
  surprising that the literature appears fragmented
  and non-cohesive.
• After figure 3.1 classification citation analysis
• Clearly, the research to this point had not
  generated material that helped to provide an
  integrated understanding of small businesses as a
  whole.

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Engage the literature further and comment on
what has been found.

• for example there were two holistic studies
  Williams (1989) and Storey, Keasey, Watson and
  Pooran (1990)

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The Williams (1989) study

•  The characteristics Williams chose to collect
  data on were in four groups
• Enterprise characteristics,
• Owner/manager characteristics,
• Management practices and business dynamics, and
• Owner/manager reaction and development.

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What Williams did

• Studied approx 4000 continuing businesses for 15
  years and approx 4000 failed businesses
• Collected detailed data on all the
  characteristics identified every 6 months
• Did extensive survey work with each failed
  business

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The contribution of the Williams study

• Observation 1
• It is critical to determine and understand what
  controls are used in a small firm and how these
  are used.
• Observation 2
• It is important to understand how these controls
  actually function as components of the management
  process of small business.
• Observation 3
• A framework model if available would provide a
  most useful reference point for the study of
  small business.

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An opportunity for you to comment use it to make
a visible contribution

• For example
• The design elements encapsulated in each
  observation are missing from Williams study and
  may well be the reason for his work not achieving
  its model building objective. A framework model
  of small business, if it could be assembled,
  might eventually provide a means to usefully
  re-explore Williams data.

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Storey, Keasey, Watson and Pooran 1990

• What Story et al Did
• Obtained financial data (annual reports) of a
  sample a selection of small manufacturing
  businesses
• - Compared the financial performance of small
  manufacturing firms with the creation of
  employment in those enterprises as a - measure
  of success.
•  The objective of Storey et al. was to model the
  small firm through prediction of failure, an
  objective not achieved by the study.

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The Storey et al. study contribution

• Observation 4
• Profitability, and thus viability, is
  persistently present in a continuing small
  business and not just in periods centred around
  growth stages. Furthermore, it cannot be assumed
  that profitability directly relates to growth.
•  Observation 5
• Cashflow or liquidity should be an aspect of
  small business to examine and have an important
  role in small business management.
•  Observation 6
• A single summary source such as annual accounts
  or statistical models is not a sufficient
  database for model development. A range of
  sources must be explored if the drivers and
  relationships necessary for small business to
  function are to be understood.

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Compare the studies

• E.g Williams and Storey et al. observations
• Observation 7
• Research based on a comparison of survivor and
  non-survivor firms has not produced information
  from which a small business model can be
  developed.
•  

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Figure 3.3 Research model used
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A key problem in literature driven research
studiesis the absence of connective links.
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In complex literatures you need to stay
unattached until the relationships fall out

• Let the literature talk to you
• Dont get committed to a particular view. Stay
  loose.
• Let the relationship and method requirements
  fall out.
• Use Observations until you are ready to commit.

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Step 2 Grasping the Literature Analytically

• After you have scoped the literature identify the
  areas you want to look at more closely.
• It is here that you should draw together the
  relevant literatures you wish to explore in
  detail.

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Example of headings chosen

• Constraints in small business
• Workload in small business.
• Small business growth
• Small business and its business environment
• Research into the links between small business
  components
• Business orientations and their influence
• Common elements between orientations
• Some general observations about orientation
  literature
• Opportunity recognition

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Treatment of each headinge.g.Constraints in
small business

• Material
• Discussion of workload and need to focus
  (Williams 1989 Beddall 1990)
• Support in literature
• Cohn and Limberg (1972), Rohrer, Hibler and
  Replogle (1969). Classical organisational
  literature and research (for example the
  discussion of Fayol, Gulick, Urwick, Mooney and
  Taylor in Dalton Lawrence and Lorch 1970 or see
  Odiorne 1987).

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Observations

• Observation 8
• Small business is constrained by the limitations
  of its resource base.
• Observation 9
• The limited resource base of small firms will
  cause managers to select a very limited and
  simple set of tools, with which to perform only
  the most necessary management information tasks.
• Observation 10
• The complexity of small business also has an
  effect on the selection of management tools.
• Observation 11
• Tools need to be multifunctional and capable of
  embracing a number of small business management
  needs if they are to be of value.

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e.g. 2 Workload in small business

• Material
• Beddall (1991) Williams (1989) (Stubbart 1989,
  p. 326). (Johston-Laird 1988, 1983 Hogarth
  1980 Kahneman, Slovic and Tversky 1982 Simon
  1956, 1955 Smircich and Stubbart 1985 Thurow
  1983). Simon (1979, 1978) (Bedeian
  1984).Lindblom (1979, 1959) (Stein 1981, p. 922
  (Quinn 1992, 1981, 1978) stress.

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Observations

• Observation 12
• In an environment where time is at a premium and
  in a pressured environment constant priority
  choices are unavoidable.
• Some more discussion..
• see Kellogg 1995 Cottingham 1986 Bougin, Weick
  and Binkhorst 1977 Higgins and Barth 1975
  Stubbart and Ramaprasad 1988 Boden 1988
  Pylyshyn 1986 and Johnson-Laird 1988, 1983). In
  fact, the apparent conflict in Williams

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• Observation 13
• By virtue of the limitation of their resource
  base and past experience, small business managers
  require an extreme ability to set attention
  priorities.
• Discussion
• Observation 14
• Focal points are needed in small business to set
  the priorities for allocation of time by the
  owner/manager and thus avoid work overload.
  These still need to be identified.
• Discussion
• Observation 15
• An evoked set of data exists, that is a set of
  identifiable pieces of information forming a
  basis from which small businesses makes its
  decisions.

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Research into the links between components

• Observations
• Observation 18
• The locus of control and management in small
  business is directly vested in the owner/manager.
  This person is central to all the decision
  paths.
• Observation 19
• In small business all decision paths pass
  directly through the owner/manager, and this
  person directly determines the organisational
  response.

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The problem is to stay unattached until the
relationships fall out

• Let the literature talk to you
• Dont get committed to a particular view. Stay
  loose.
• Let the relationship and method requirements
  fall out.
• The use of observations let you do this in a
  complex literature and they also draw attention
  to what you think! In the thesis used as an
  example there were 56 observations.

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Step 3 bring the story together

• Develop Propositions by Bringing the Observations
  together into groups that support your model
  arguments

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The propositions

• From a conceptual modelling perspective a key
  observation is that orientations can be divided
  into two groups, those concerned with the
  generative and those concerned with the
  extractive contributions to the firm (observation
  54). This observation is fundamental to the
  conceptual modelling process because it suggests
• Proposition 1
• The firm can be conceptualised as consisting of
  two components the generative and the
  extractive.

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• The function of the generative component of the
  firm is to supply it with a cashflow from
  operations, this is central to its medium and
  long term survival (observations 5, 24, 25, 26,
  27, 28). The function of the extractive
  component on the other hand, is to service the
  internal and societal claims made on the firm.
  From a conceptual modelling perspective this
  recognises that small firms operate in dynamic
  contextual environments. The appropriate model
  approach is therefore one which is dynamic but
  has a central focus on cashflow and what this
  allows the entity to do (observation 29). A
  second proposition is thus

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• Proposition 2.
• The dynamics of cashflow provide a central core
  around which both the generative and extractive
  domains exist. It is central to the study and
  development of a conceptual model of the small
  firm.
•  .
• Whilst understanding the generative component
  raises a number of issues which need to be
  clarified, the aspects of the firm which are
  directly generative can be identified. Central
  to the generative group is marketing with its
  fundamental function to supply cashflow from
  operations to the firm (observation 30) and its
  role as a unifier of the generative components
  (observation 31).

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• Marketing further provides a wide body of
  information on the exterior drivers of the
  cashflow from operations (observations 32, 34,
  35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 45) and the internal
  interfaces required in the management
  resource-scarce small firm (observations 8, 12,
  16). The management function is centralised and
  simple (observations 13, 14, 17) and achieves
  effectiveness across the firm through its central
  pivotal position (observations 19, 20, 21, 22,
  23) The generative component contributes to the
  firm through attainment of customer relevance
  (observation 33), and it is likely to exhibit
  proactive behaviour (observations 41, 42, 43, 44,
  46, 47, 48). It is also very likely to possess a
  strong generative learning and unlearning ability
  to maintain cashflow from operations generating
  achievement (observations 49, 50, 52, 53).

54

• This further suggests that
• Proposition 3
• An important component of the model should be the
  ability to generate and maintain customer
  relevance so as to unite the generative
  components of the firm into a productive whole.

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• The observation that management functions through
  orientations provides a perspective on how the
  firm functions, and thus how the research for
  this dissertation might be conducted.
  Observation 55 indicates the closeness and
  directness of links between orientation action
  and management, and also indicates that not all
  identified components of an orientation need to
  exist for that orientation to be present and
  operative. It is clear that knowledge about the
  internal functions of the small firm is complex
  and not well understood (observations 1, 2, 4, 6)
  and that there is little consensus on how this
  phenomenon might be studied (observation 7).

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• What is evident is that there is a management
  process by which a limited group of tools is
  selected to perform the information tasks of
  small firm owners and managers (observations 9,
  10, 11). The generative and functional processes
  can thus be explored by studying the firms
  information system, its use and path in the
  dynamics of the firm (observation 50). Assuming
  the critical elements identified in this chapter
  can be found, exploration can be expected to
  result in a conceptual model of the internal
  functions of the small firm. Observation 3 can
  thus be transformed into the final proposition

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• Proposition 4
• A conceptual model of the internal functions of
  the small firm provides a most useful reference
  point for the understanding of and the future
  study of the small firm.
•  

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Concluding remark

• While it is anticipated the research for this
  dissertation will provide insights and material
  beyond these propositions, these cannot be
  predicted. As a consequence of this research,
  issues beyond these propositions should emerge in
  the final chapter of this dissertation with
  further research opportunities.

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Chapter 4 Research method should come out of the
literature for example

• If we return to the beginning of the literature
  chapter you will remember Williams and Story et
  al. and their model of the research process.
  This becomes the basis for the research model of
  the thesis.
• Research method appropriate to the study is
  usually evident from a close reading of the
  literature.

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Figure 3.3 Research model used
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A Structural Equation or Choice Model Thesis
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Structure of the thesis

• Chapter 1 Introduction and overview of this
  thesis
• Chapter 2 Issues in defining the area of study
• Chapter 3 Literature review
• Chapter 4 Method
• (Chapter 5 Qualitative Research).
• Chapter 6 Hypothesis, Research Instrument and
• Theoretical Model
  Development
• Chapter 7 Findings
• Chapter 8 Discussion of Findings
• Chapter 9 Conclusions, implications and
  identification
• of further research.

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Literature treatment in structural equation or
discrete choice modeling

• In these thesis you are set up a model so the
  reader needs to be very clear of its basis.
• Identify the issues very carefully.
• Analyze each issue and its parameters.
• Let a hypothesis emerge.
• Every aspect needs to have very careful
  specifications emanating from the literature or
  from qualitative data you have collected and is
  sufficiently robust to use.

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EG Hellier work Questions were

• What is the impact of customer satisfaction and
  brand preference upon repurchase intention?
• What is the effect of customer loyalty and
  switching costs upon brand preference?
• How important is the contribution of perceived
  value to customer satisfaction and brand
  preference?
• What is the impact of perceived equity upon
  customer perceived value and satisfaction?
• How does perceived quality contribute to customer
  satisfaction?

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The issues

• Perceived quality
• Perceived value
• Perceived equity
• Customer satisfaction
• Customer Loyalty
• Expected switching costs
• Brand preference
• Repurchase intention

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E.G. Brand preference upon repurchase intention

• The effect of brand preference on willingness to
  buy have rarely been examined (Dodds et al.,
  1991). Encouraging approaches to the more precise
  specification of customer choice behaviour are
  provided by developments in consideration set
  theory by Roberts and Lattin (1991, 1997),
  Shocker et al. (1991) and Kardes et al. (1993).
  Constructive advances also appear in the
  structural models of customer preference and
  repurchase by Roest and Pieters (1997),
  Andreassen and Lindestad (1998), Erdem and Swait
  (1998) and Pritchard et al. (1999). It is argued
  that there is a causal link between the
  disposition of the customer to favour the service
  of a specific supplier (brand preference) and the
  customers willingness to buy that service again
  from the same supplier.
• H1 The strength of brand preference has a
  positive direct effect on repurchase intention.

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eg Liz HemphillAn examination of agent-principal
relationship establishment The case of Real
Estate
69

• Chapter 1
• Introduction to this dissertation
• Specific issues of this research
• Real estate as an example of agent-principal
  agreements
• The agent's interest in relationship
  establishment
• Scope of this research
• Contributions this dissertation makes to theory
• Contributions this dissertation makes to
  practitioners
• The general research question of this dissertation

70

• Chapter 2
• Definitions of terms used in this dissertation
• Agency relationship
• Agent-principal agreement
• Agent-principal relationship establishment
• Citation conventions used in this thesis
• Glossary

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• Chapter 3 Literature Review
• The roots of agency agreements
• Agency theory
• The legal perspective
• The marketing perspective
• A summary of the two perspectives
• Specifying the agency relationship
• The structure of agent-principal relationship
• The Buyer Perspective
• The Seller Perspective
• The Agent Perspective
• Determinants of agent-principal relationship
  establishment
• Agent-principal relationship establishment
• Designing the agent-principal relationship
  submission
• Sales presentation
• Conclusion

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• Chapter 4Method
• General research issues
• Qualitative research issues
• Quantitative research issues
• Testing the conceptual model
• Limitations
• Chapter 5
• Qualitative Research
• Research method
• Research findings

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• Chapter 6 Hypotheses, research instrument and
  theoretical model development
• Method for developing hypotheses
• Hypotheses Development
• Research Instrument Development
• The Research Instrument Development cycle
• Measures from the literature
• Self-developed measures
• Pre-testing the instrument
• Scale purification
• Collecting the Data
• Models
• Development of a measurement model
• Establishing legitimacy of the measures
• Model specification
• Item specification
• Model comparison

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• Chapter 7 Findings
• Method of testing links
• Results of testing links
• Chapter 8
• Discussion of findings
• Information appropriation
• Agency control
• Agent values
• Agent sales presentation
• Agent representation
• Proposed advertisements media selection
• Negotiation
• Summary of confirmed links

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• Chapter 9 Conclusion, implications and
  identification of further research
• Implications for theory
• Real estate research
• Agency theory
• Personal sales literature
• Marketing literature
• Contributions to real estate research
• Contributions to agency theory
• Contributions to personal sales literature
• Contributions to general marketing literature
• Implications for practitioners
• Implications for agency owners
• Implications for agents
• Implication for future research
• Conclusion

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Structure of the thesis

• Chapter 1 Introduction and overview of this
  thesis
• Chapter 2 Issues in defining the area of study
• Chapter 3 Literature review
• Chapter 4 Method
• (Chapter 5 Qualitative Research).
• Chapter 6 Hypothesis, Research Instrument and
• Theoretical Model
  Development
• Chapter 7 Findings
• Chapter 8 Discussion of Findings
• Chapter 9 Conclusions, implications and
  identification
• of further research.

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Structure of the thesis

• Chapter 1 Introduction and overview of this
  thesis
• Chapter 2 Issues in defining
• Chapter 3 Literature review
• Chapter 4 Research method
• Chapter 5 Active research Your Work
• Chapter 6 Active research Your Work
• Chapter 7 Active research Your Work
• Chapter 9 Conclusions, implications and
  identification of further research. Fitting
  it
• back into the literature

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Modified model