Methodology
Research philosophy
The initial element of the research methodology for this dissertation is to define the underlying research philosophy for the investigation. In the case of the present dissertation, this methodology must provide the potential to examine the role of digital marketing in supporting business recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As this is a broad and exploratory research process, the optimal research philosophy will be interpretive in nature (Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2005). This is due to the value of an interpretive philosophy in focusing on the contextual nature of the research situation and the various social factors around it. As such, an interpretive research aims to create knowledge and insight by interpreting the present research scenario within its social context (Easterby-Smith et al, 2012). This interpretive focus will help to facilitate understanding around the role of digital marketing in supporting business recovery as economies begin to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic. Such a philosophy contrasts with others such as positivism, which aim to describe situations through detailed mathematical processes involving scientific analysis and rational inquiry (Saunders et al, 2009). As such, the present research will look to be more interpretive and open to the nature of digital marketing and its role in the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery, in order to provide high levels of insight and to support the development of a framework to support digital marketing in the future (Gray, 2014).
Research methods
Within the overall research philosophy, it is important for a researcher to consider the specific choice of research methods. In particular, research needs to consider the use of either primary or secondary methods, and whether these methods will be guided by the use of qualitative or quantitative data. This broadly requires a consideration of the ability of each research method to provide data that is both reliable and valid, and also suitable for the purpose of analysis and fulfilment of the objectives of the work (Denscombe, 2010). In the case of the present research, as the study is interpretive in nature, it is most strongly aligned with primary and qualitative research methods, as these can provide the highest level of interpretive insight around the nature of the topic and the role of digital marketing in supporting business recovery as economies begin to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic. This in turn indicates that the present research is best advised to use a primary and qualitative method. In this regard, an interview strategy has been selected as the main method of empirical research for this dissertation. This is due to the value of interview strategies in providing strong levels of insight into a specific research phenomenon, whilst also enabling the use of a broad sample rather than a focus on a specific organisation (Dilanthi, 2002). This hence lends itself to the use of interviews in the collection of qualitative primary data, which can be used to develop sufficient insight around the research topic and its implications for theory and practice (Patton, 2002).
Sampling strategy
In order to ensure the data is reliable and valid, it is important to apply a valid sampling strategy. In this regard, the purpose of this research project would be to examine the role of digital marketing in supporting business recovery as economies begin to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic. This requires a sampling strategy which can provide sufficient insight into the role played by digital marketing in this context, whilst also ensuring a degree of breath and representativeness of the wider population (Bryman and Bell, 2015). In the case of the present research, the decision has been made to focus on developing maximum insight, in order to build the framework for future digital marketing interventions. As such, the sampling strategy will be purposive in nature, with a total of ten interviews carried out with the leaders and marketing managers of businesses that have been observed to use digital marketing effectively in responding to the pandemic. This will help to provide insight into the most effective ways digital marketing can be used to support business recovery, with the choice of ten interviews also providing some level of breadth and representativeness (Kumar, 2014).
Data collection
Within the interview strategy, it will be important to consider how the interviews will be conducted, in order to ensure the effective collection of data in a meaningful and valid manner. As noted above, a total of ten interviews will be carried out with individuals selected from organisations that have used digital marketing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. These interviews will be semi-structured in nature, enabling the researcher to ensure a strong underlying structure to the interviews, but also offering the potential to probe some issues in further depth, and thus develop additional insights where required (Qu and Dumay, 2011). The interviews will be carried out on a face to face basis, with the researcher travelling to the workplaces of the interviewees, or an agreed third party location, in order to maximise convenience for the respondents. Face to face interviews have been shown to be a strong way to collect interview data, enabling a better rapport and deeper answers and insights (Jankowicz, 2005). As such, this process will be used to collect the data, whilst ensuring social distancing is observed and all necessary precautions are taken in light of the risk of COVID-19. The questionnaire instrument is contained in the appendices to this work.
Data analysis
The use of interviews to collect primary data for the research requires said data to be analysed using appropriate and valid qualitative analysis techniques. As such, the decision has been made to undertake qualitative analysis of the interview data by using the process of narrative and thematic analysis (Creswell, 2013). Of these, the thematic analysis involves assigning codes to the data based on the main themes and identified issues. These codes are then compared across different responses and interviews, in order to identify the most significant and important roles of digital marketing in supporting business recovery as economies begin to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic amongst the sample businesses (Cassel and Symon, 2004). Following these process, the codes are structured in order to craft a narrative outlining the overall role of digital marketing in supporting business recovery, and how this has aided some companies in surviving and thriving in this context (Easterby-Smith et al, 2012). The final stage of analysis is to discuss the results critically within the wider context of the academic literature, identifying and discussing relevant consistencies and inconsistencies in order to develop a deeper level of insight and answer the overall research questions (Quinlan, 2011).
Research ethics
In order to ensure ethical research, the research process has been sure to follow relevant ethical guidelines. Specifically, all relevant guidelines and requirements imposed by the university have been followed closely, whilst the researcher has also adhered to best practice guidelines around ethical academic research in general (Bell, 2014). In the present context, due to the collection of primary data, the work involves individuals and organisations as direct participants in the research process, creating the ethical requirement not to cause any harm, including physical and psychological harm, to any participant or other body affected by the research (Robson, 2011). This has been achieved by obtaining informed consent from all individuals and organisations involved in the research, through the use of consent forms. The researcher has also ensured that the privacy and confidentiality of all participants is maintained, and that no vulnerable people were included in the research process (Bryman and Bell, 2015). In addition to this, all relevant COVID-19 protocols have been followed, including ensuring vaccinations and social distancing, to minimise the risk of physical harm. Finally, the researcher has also carefully followed ethical guidelines around the research reporting and process, including making necessary acknowledgements and references and reporting results in an open and transparent manner, which acknowledges the limitations of the work (William et al, 2013).
Methodological limitations.
The main limitation of the present research is that it is a mono method study. This means that the work has only used one source of data, namely the qualitative interviews. As such, this may limit the insight and validity provided by the results, with Creswell (2013) noting that superior quality research often uses multiple sources of data to offer maximum value and develop superior understanding. In addition to this, the present research takes place in the context of recovery from COVID-19, but only in the early stages, with the potential for future lockdowns and restrictions if cases rise again. As such, this limits the ability of the work to explore fully the role of digital marketing in supporting business recovery as economies begin to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic. This indicates that future research in this area should consider a longitudinal strategy, analysing businesses and recovery over a long period of time to assess the evolution of digital marketing and its impacts.
References
Bell, J. (2014) Doing Your Research Project: A guide for first-time researchers. London: McGraw-Hill Education
Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2015) Business Research Methods. 4th Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Creswell, J.W. (2013) Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. 4th Edition. London: Sage Publications
Denscombe, M. (2010) The good research guide: for small-scale social research projects. 4th Edition. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill
Dilanthi A. Baldry, D. Sarshar, M. and Newton, R. (2002) Quantitative and qualitative research in the built environment: application of “mixed” research approach. Work Study. 51(1) p17-31
Easterby-Smith, M. Thorpe, R. and Jackson, P. (2012) Management research. 4th edition. London: SAGE Publications
Ghauri, P. and Grønhaug, K. (2005) Research methods in business studies. Harlow, UK: Financial Times Prentice Hall
Gray, D. (2014) Doing Research in the Real World. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Jankowicz, A. (2005) Business Research Projects. 4th Edition. London: Thomson
Kumar, R. (2014) Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. 4th Edition. London: Sage
Patton, M. Q. (2002) Qualitative Research Evaluation methods. 3rd edition. London: Sage Publications
Qu, S. and Dumay, J. (2011) The qualitative research interview. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management. 8(3) p238-264
Quinlan, C. (2011) Business research methods. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning
Robson, C. (2011) Real world research: a resource for users of social research methods in applied settings. Chichester: Wiley
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2009) Research methods for business students. Harlow, England: Prentice Hall
William, G. Barry, J. Jon, C. and Mitch, G. (2013) Business Research Methods. 9th Edition. London: Cengage Learning
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