A note on a few research methodologies for MBA study

A note on a few research methodologies for MBA study

Briefly highlight 4 main ideas of the following research methodology in MBA study:

1.    The ethnographic approach

2.    The hermeneutic approach

3.    The phenomenological approach

Then, provide 1 illustrative example of how to employ a research method (e.g. interview) with reference to each of the three research methodology mentioned above for doing an MBA dissertation project.

 

The three approaches are all interpretive qualitative methodologies, but they differ in their primary focus: ethnography studies culture and practice in context; hermeneutics interprets meanings in texts and accounts; phenomenology examines individuals’ lived experiences.

Four main ideas

Methodology	Four main ideas
Ethnographic approach	1. Studies a group or organisation in its natural setting. 2. Uses prolonged immersion and participant/non-participant observation. 3. Seeks to understand shared values, routines, language, behaviours and organisational culture. 4. Combines multiple data sources, especially observation and ethnographic interviews, to build a “thick description.”
Hermeneutic approach	1. Focuses on interpretation of meaning in texts, conversations, documents or accounts. 2. Recognises that researchers bring prior understanding, which must be made explicit and reflexively examined. 3. Uses the “hermeneutic circle”: moving repeatedly between parts of the data and the whole interpretation. 4. Aims to develop a deeper, contextual understanding rather than test fixed hypotheses.
Phenomenological approach	1. Investigates how individuals experience a particular phenomenon. 2. Seeks the “essence” and common structure of that lived experience. 3. Uses in-depth interviews, reflective questions and participants’ own descriptions. 4. Analyses transcripts for significant statements and recurring themes that express participants’ meanings.

MBA dissertation examples: using interviews

1. Ethnographic approach

Topic: How frontline employees in a Hong Kong retail chain adapt to omnichannel customer service.

• Spend several weeks observing service interactions in selected stores.
• Conduct informal, ethnographic interviews with sales staff during or after work shifts.
• Ask: “Can you walk me through what usually happens when a customer orders online and collects in store?”
• Analyse interview data together with observations, staff documents and customer-service routines to interpret the store’s working culture.

2. Hermeneutic approach

Topic: How managers interpret the meaning of ESG reporting in their companies.

• Interview six to eight managers using open questions such as: “What does ESG reporting mean to you in your daily managerial role?”
• Transcribe interviews and treat them as interpretive texts.
• Read each transcript repeatedly, identify meaningful statements, then relate them to the whole account and to company reports or policy documents.
• Develop an interpretation of how managers make sense of ESG responsibilities, rather than merely counting responses.

3. Phenomenological approach

Topic: The lived experience of MBA students balancing full-time work, study and family responsibilities.

• Recruit MBA students who have directly experienced the phenomenon.
• Conduct in-depth, unstructured or semi-structured interviews: “Please describe a recent time when work, study and family demands conflicted. What was that experience like for you?”
• Ask follow-up questions to uncover feelings, coping actions, turning points and personal meanings.
• Code significant statements and cluster them into themes, such as time pressure, role conflict, support networks and personal growth.

Practical distinction

Use ethnography when the research question is about what people do and how their organisational culture works; use hermeneutics when it is about how meanings in accounts or documents should be interpreted; use phenomenology when it is about what an experience is like for the people who live it