Qualitative exploratory research

Our research involved study of existing literature, using case study method to determine the cloud consulting company, which model we used as a benchmark for suggesting the roadmap for IBM, and data gathering conducting the interviews. Myers (2009) states that the qualitative research is used to study social and cultural phenomena in depth, with a focus on text, which suits our approach well.

The major task of the data collection, i.e. conducting interviews, was to answer the three broad questions:

1. Is there any demand for cloud consulting?

2. Does Russian business ready to accept (trust) cloud consulting?

3. How is it possible to develop and implement successfully cloud consulting business model in Russia?

Answering those broad questions was essential, because we got understanding if there is any sense in even trying to implement cloud consulting in Russia or not. In order to acquire relevant data it was necessary to get opinions of top management of Russian companies from industries that might potentially use and/or be interested in the cloud consulting services. We wanted all the respondents should have had a “free talk” in any manner, length, and depth they wanted or felt the most convenient with. This needed to be done in order not to limit the respondents with tools such as, for example, using Likert scale only. As the approach implies we chose to use the semi-structured interviews to get in-depth answers from our respondents.

According to Saunders et al. (2007), semi-structured interview is a qualitative research technique, in which a researcher has a list of themes and questions to be covered, which may vary from interview to interview. The order of questions might vary as well depending on the flow of the conversation. However, some additional or not previously included questions might appear during the conversation. The nature of questions (open questions) and the open discussion imply that the data should be audio-recorded or questions should be answered in details in written form under the supervision of the researcher in order to avoid the response bias. Moreover, the research seem to be exploratory, because we seek to find out what is happening on Russian consulting market and try to find new insights into applying already existing business models of cloud consulting companies. Therefore, the research is both qualitative and exploratory.

Semi-structured interviews are used to gather data, which should be normally analyzed qualitatively (Saunders et al., 2007). Authors state that the data collected should not only answer “what” and “how” questions, but also help to explore the “why” questions. Taking into account that theoretical framework, we tried to create balanced questionnaire with all the three types of questions mentioned so that it would be possible to capture the widest amount of data possible.

Significance of personal contact

Saunders et al. (2007) found that managers prefer free talk rather than responding a questionnaire or survey, especially when the topic is relevant for business and is of personal interest of the manager. This allows the interviewers to receive an immediate feedback on questions (in case if any are unclear or vague), and it is possible to be sure that the interviewee is a manager, not his or her assistant or secretary. Personal interviews give higher degree of control over the answers comparing to sending a questionnaire online or by post. Moreover, personal conversation in general decreases the opportunity of occurrence false answers.

Length of time required

It is necessary to define the time period for the interviews. Saunders et al. (2007) emphasize the importance of informing the interviewee about the time that is going to be spent and about the expectations of the interviewer. Knowing that, respondents tend to agree with the objectives of the research interview and usually are willing to answer the questions. Authors found that some respondents might devote a lot of time to the interview or are ready to spend all their lunch or break time for answering the questions. After consultations with the IBM supervisor Alexey Anikin, we assumed that the period of 30 minutes would be enough to get all or majority of the data needed.

Sample

The sample for the research was chosen by the IBM supervisor Mr.Anikin. Due to confidentiality policies, it is not possible to disclose all the details on sample for the research. Sample included the seven IT managers of large companies located in Moscow. All the companies are from different industries including railway and mining. All the managers had suffiecient experience and knowledge to be able to discuss the topic of the cloud consulting implementation in Russia and had worked with or used the services of consulting companies earlier.

Interview content

The nature of the task and the project led us to conclusion that the best option was to conduct the qualitative exploratory semi-structured research. As it was mentioned in the previous sections, we wanted to let the interviewees respond in a “free talk” manner. To let the respondents do that we tried to create a balanced list of questions that included both ones to scale responses (Likert scale) and open questions for receiving broad and detailed information from the respondents. Number of open questions prevailed.

Questionnaires were prepared in both Russian and English languages. However, since there was a possibility that not all respondents spoke English fluent enough, questionnaires in Russian only were used for interviews. The transcript of the interviews was used for further analysis of the data collected.

Limitations

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 529