Convergent interviewing to build a theory in under‐researched areas: principles and an example investigation of Internet usage in inter‐firm relationships

Rao, Sally; Perry, Chad

doi:10.1108/13522750310495328

Cited by 144 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…This eliminates null results (Purcell et al, 2003). The data collection was carried out using convergent interviews (Rao and Perry, 2003). This is an inductive, qualitative method particularly suited to investigating under-researched areas.…”

Section: Research Design and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding employee resourcing in construction organizations

Raidén

Dainty

Neale

2008

Construction Management and Economics

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In recent years the literature on employee resourcing has consistently advocated the importance of adopting a holistic, strategic approach to employee deployment decision-making rather than adopting a reactive needs-based approach. This is particularly problematic in construction where the multi-project environment leads to constantly changing resource requirements and to changing demands over a project's lifecycle. This can lead to inappropriate decisions, which fail to meet the longer term needs of both construction organisations and their employees. A structured and comprehensive understanding of the current project team deployment practices within large construction organisations was developed. Project deployment practices were examined within seven case study contracting firms. The emergent themes that shaped the decision-making processes were grouped into five broad clusters comprising human resource planning, performance/career management, team deployment, employee involvement and training and development. The research confirms that a reactive and ad hoc approach to the function prevails within the firms investigated. This suggests a weak relationship between the deployment process and human resource planning, team deployment, performance management, employee involvement and training and development activities. It P o s t -P r i n t is suggested that strategic HR-business partnering could engender more transparent and productive relationships in this crucial area.Keywords: Employee involvement, human resource management, recruitment, project team, strategic management Introduction: the project deployment challengeGiven the multi-disciplinarity and temporality of construction project teams, strategic project team deployment represents a complex and problematic task for construction organisations. Whilst the increasing use of outsourcing and subcontracting has reduced directly employed human resource requirements, it has made project management more complex, with a resultant requirement for a more precise matching of management skills and competencies to project requirements (Loosemore et al, 2003). Indeed, given that management is the main scarce resource within contracting organisations (Hillibrandt and Cannon, 1990: 115), it could be argued that this process forms a key determinant of competitiveness for such firms. Managed effectively, employee resourcing can help to achieve organisational flexibility by providing access to a full range of skills that can be utilised for longer-term strategic planning.In construction, managers attempt to achieve the best technical/ financial business outcomes through their deployment decisions (De Feis, 1987). This can, however, lead to a focus on the achievement of financial, programme and quality outcomes over other project performance criteria (Dainty et al, 2003).Consequently, current project human resource allocation decisions tend to be P o s t -P r i n t reactive rather than founded on the longer term reconciliation of project, employee and organization...

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Section: Research Design and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding employee resourcing in construction organizations

Raidén

Dainty

Neale

2008

Construction Management and Economics

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show abstract

“…Initial questions were broad, and topics were discussed as respondents brought them up, using probing to get at more depth. The interview guide was used dynamically, and analysis was continuous throughout the interview process to organize insights, follow up on emergent ideas, and incorporate them into further interviews (Pare, 2002;Rao & Perry, 2003). The patterns of the answers converged well without requiring greater numbers in the sample (Guest, Bunce, & Johnson, 2006;Rao & Perry, 2003).…”

Section: The Market Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship Marketing and Micro-Retailer Brand in Traditional Markets

Theerachun

Speece

Zimmermann

2013

Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing

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“…This technique gave access to all strata of society within the selected case study. Furthermore, snowballing is a popular technique to use when using qualitative research methods as this approach ensures that the researcher is accessing appropriate contacts that will provide meaningful information to the research (Ruddick, 1998;Rao et al, 2003;Valentine, 2009). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%