Management Research Methods

Transcription

1 Management Research Methods Xitong Guo Harbin Institute of Technology Lecture 7 Proposal & Thesis: an Example of How We Do it Together

2 Outline Review of the Structure of Research A Research Example of How We Do it Together

3 1 Review of the Structure of Research

4 The Structure of Research The "hourglass" notion of research Begin with broad questions. Narrow down, focus in. Operationalize. OBSERVE Analyze data. Reach conclusions. Generalize back to questions.

5 Sample Research Paper Sections Introduction (Section 1) Literature Review (Section 2) Research Approach (Section 3) Methodology (Section 4) Findings / Results (Section 5) Discussion (Section 6) Conclusions (Section 7) References / Appendices 5

6 2 A Research Example of How We Do it Together

7 The Problem Multi-culture teams are become more prevalent in organizations They are supported by ICTs It becomes increasingly imperative to understand group decision dynamics for multi-culture teams with ICT support

8 Research Question How Culture and Communication Channel affect Group Decision Dynamics?

9 Culture Theoretic Framework Media Richness Theory

10 Dimensions of Culture Hofstede s Model of Cultural Dimensions Power distance Uncertainty avoidance index Individualism vs. collectivism Masculine vs. feminality Long vs. short term orientation

11 Masculinity Masculinity values like competitiveness and the acquisition of wealth are valued over 'feminine' values like relationship building and quality of life. "Feminine" cultures include Thailand, Korea and the Middle East. Countries score high on masculinity scale life's priorities are achievement, wealth and expansion. It is acceptable to settle conflicts through aggressive means. "Masculine" cultures include Japan and USA. H1: Masculine" culture group will be more likely to stick to the existing choice in decision-making than "Feminine" culture group

12 Uncertainty avoidance index Uncertainty avoidance index measures a country or culture's preference for strict laws and regulations over ambiguity and risk. According to Hofstede's findings Greece is the most risk-averse culture while Singapore the least. Generally speaking Protestant countries and those with Chinese influences score low. Buddhist and Arabic speaking countries tend to score high in uncertainty avoidance. H2: The group that score high on UAI change their decision more frequently than low-score UAI group

13 Media Richness Model (Source: Suh 1999) Task Characteristics *Intellective *Negotiation -Non-consonant -Consonant Communication Media Characteristics *Text(computer) *Audio *Video *Face to face Dyadic Communication Task/ Media Fit Task Performance Decision quality Decision time Task Satisfaction *Process satisfaction *Outcome satisfaction

14 Hypotheses H3 (Decision quality): Communications quality will be higher for face-face than CMC H4 (Decision time): Communications time will be shorter for face-face than CMC

15 Research Setting Game: Team A and B negotiate how to distribute 100 RMB

16 Game Rules Propose the distribution Accept/Reject

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18 B A

19 Procedure and Tips Members: 4 persons/team Discussion time: 5 minutes A/B: appointed through luck draw Communication channel (appointed): face to face, PC to PC (CMC) Videotape the discussion Subtitles: 2 volunteers/team

20 Sample Research Setting

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22 Team 1 (A) 8 Teams, 4 Groups Team 2 (B) Team 3 (A) Team 4 (B) Russia China 1 Korea Thailand Team 5 (A) Team 6(B) Team 7 (B) Team 8 (A) China 2 Union 1 Vietnam Union 2

23 Communication Media

24 Game Process Video

25 Team1 Team2 (Russia) (China 1) Team3 (Korea) Team6 Team4 (Thailand) Team5 (Union 1) (China 2) Team7 Team8 (Vietnam) (Union 2)

26 Data Analysis

27 Game Results Team 1 (Russia) A 75:25 Team 2 (China1) B 50:50 A 70:30 A 70:30 B 50:50 B 50:50 A 65:35 B 50:50 A 60:40 B 50:50

28 Group 2 Team 3 (Korea) A 80:20 Team 4 (Thailand) B 50:50 A 70:30 A 70:30 B 60:40 B 60:40 Accept 60:40

29 Group 3 Team 5 (China2) A 90:10 Team 6 (Union1) B 50:50 A 60:40 A 60:40 B 50:50 B 50:50 A B 55:45 50:50 A 55:45 B 50:50

30 Group 4 Team 8 (Union2) A 52:48 A 52:48 Team 7 (Vietnam) B 50:50/48:52 B 50:50 A 52:48 B 51:49 Accept 52:48

31 percentage line T5 (China 2) Square: CMC T6 (Union1 ) T3 (Korea) T4 (Thailand) Circle: F to F T1 (Russia) T2 (China1) T8 (Union2) T 7 (Vietnam)

32 T5 (China 2) T6 (Union1) T3 (Korea) T4 (Thailand) T1 (Russia) T2 (China1) T8 (Union2) T 7 (Vietnam)

33 Hofstede s Model of Cultural Dimensions (1): Masculinity (MAS): Confident, Assertive H1: Masculine" culture group will be more likely to stick to the existing choice in decision-making than "Feminine" culture group Country MAS Japan 95 China 66 Malaysia 50 Vietnam 40 Korea 39 Russia 36 Thailand 34 T6 (Union1) T2 (China1) T8 (Union2)

34 Observation from text T6 (Union1) Observation from video Observation from video T2 (China1) T8 (Union2)

35 Conclusion H1: Masculine" culture group will be more likely to stick to the existing choice in decision-making than "Feminine" culture group Dimensions of Culture Negotiation Game Audio, Video, Chat record Support

36 Hofstede s Model of Cultural Dimensions (2): Uncertainty avoidance index (UAI): The frequency of changing offers Team 3 (Korea) Team 4 (Thailand) T3 (Korea) T4 (Thailand) T1 (Russia) T2 (China1) H2: The group that score high on UAI change their decision more frequently than low-score UAI group Team 1 (Russia) Team 2 (China1) 95 30

37 Conclusion Group Change frequencies Russia (95) vs. China (30) 3:0 Korea (85) vs. Thailand (64) 2:1 H2: The group that score high on UAI change their decision more frequently than low-score UAI group

38 Media Richness Perspective Task Characteristics *Intellective *Negotiation -Non-consonant -Consonant Communication Media Characteristics *Text(computer) *Audio *Video *Face to face Dyadic Communication Task/ Media Fit Task Performance *Decision quality * Decision time Task Satisfaction *Process satisfaction *Outcome satisfaction

39 H3 (Decision quality): Communications quality will be higher for face-face than CMC H4 (Decision time): Communications time will be shorter for face-face than CMC

40 T5 (China 2) T6 (Union1 ) T3 (Korea) T4 (Thailand) T1 (Russia) T2 (China1) T8 (Union2) T 7 (Vietnam)

41 Conclusion H3 (Decision quality): Communications quality will be higher for face-face than CMC

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43 Conclusions H1: Masculine" culture group will be more likely to stick to the existing choice in decision-making than "Feminine" culture group H2:, The group that score high on UAI change their decision more frequently than low-score UAI group H3 (Decision quality): Communications quality will be higher for face-face than CMC H4 (Decision time): Communications time will be shorter for face-face than CMC

44 Discussions Needs more teams and groups for statistical power Needs to be tested in other context for generalizability

45 Summary Show an example of How We Do it Together under the guidelines of research process Make use of multiple sources of evidence If all sources point to the same answer, you have successfully triangulated your data Combine both qualitative and quantitative analysis methods Submit your research proposal in time

46 千学不如一看, 千看不如一练 百闻不如一见, 百见不如一干 Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I'll remember. Involve me and I'll understand. Conduct independent research to solve emerging social economic problems with business research foundations and skills

47 Thank You! Questions?