A note on the topic of construct in Business Management research

A note on the topic of construct in Business Management research

 

Highlight 2 ideas on the topic of "construct" in Business Management research from each of the following philosophical perspectives: positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism. Try to provide an illustrative example for your ideas.

In business management research, construct can be framed differently by positivism, interpretivism, and pragmatism. Below are two useful ideas for each perspective, with simple examples.

Positivism

Positivism treats a construct as something that can be defined, measured, and tested objectively. In this view, the goal is usually to turn an abstract idea into variables that can be analyzed statistically.sciencedirect+1

• Idea 1: Operationalize the construct into measurable indicators.
  Example: If the construct is job satisfaction, you measure it through survey items such as pay satisfaction, supervisor support, and work-life balance. The construct becomes a numeric score that can be compared across employees.methods.sagepub+1
• Idea 2: Test relationships between constructs.
  Example: A researcher may test whether brand trust predicts purchase intention among online shoppers using correlation or regression. The construct is treated as a stable variable that can explain outcomes.sciencedirect+1

Interpretivism

Interpretivism treats a construct as socially created and dependent on context, language, and personal meaning. Here, the researcher wants to understand how people experience and define the construct in real life.sciencedirect+1

• Idea 1: Explore how participants define the construct.
  Example: The construct leadership may mean “guidance and care” to junior staff but “control and decision power” to managers. Interviews can reveal these different meanings.sciencedirect+1
• Idea 2: Understand the construct through lived experience.
  Example: For customer loyalty, a qualitative study might examine why long-term customers stay with a local online store, focusing on trust, familiarity, and emotional attachment rather than only repeat purchase frequency.sciencedirect+1

Pragmatism

Pragmatism treats a construct as something useful for solving a research problem, so the definition can combine numbers and meanings. The emphasis is on what works best in context rather than on one fixed philosophical position.youtubescribd

• Idea 1: Use mixed methods to capture both measurement and meaning.
  Example: If the construct is employee engagement, a researcher can first use a survey to measure engagement levels, then conduct interviews to understand why some teams are more engaged than others.scribdyoutube
• Idea 2: Adapt the construct to the research purpose and setting.
  Example: In a study of service quality in an online sales outlet, a pragmatist might measure delivery speed and website usability, while also asking customers how they judge “good service” in Hong Kong’s e-commerce context.youtubescribd

Practical way to write it

A simple dissertation-style sentence could be: “Under a positivist lens, the construct is defined as a measurable variable; under an interpretivist lens, it is understood as a socially constructed meaning; under a pragmatist lens, it is selected and shaped according to its usefulness for addressing the research problem”.tutorsindia+2

A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.