Research objectives in theory-testing research
4.2 Specifying propositions in theory-testing research
In our general discussion of theory in Chapter 3, we use the word proposition to designate a statement about the relation between con- cepts . A proposition, therefore, belongs to the realm of the theory. We use the term hypothesis in the context of a study. A hypothesis is a statement about a relation between variables, representing concepts, in the instances studied. A hypothesis, thus, belongs to the realm of the empirical situation in which the proposition represented by this hypothesis is tested. Many propositions in business research have the form “A results in B” or “A contributes to B” or “A affects B”, etc. in which A is, for instance, something that a manager can or cannot do or can do to a larger or lesser degree and B is the desired result of that action. If the topic of the research is “critical success factors of innovation projects” then a proposition regarding innovation projects could be that “factor A results in success B” where A may be top management commitment and B is successful financial performance. There is a probabilistic and a deterministic way of expressing “A results in B”. These two ways are fundamentally different and repre- sent two different theories about the effect of A on B. In a theory- testing research project, the assumed relationship between A and B needs to be specified precisely in the proposition before we can deter- mine which research strategy fits best. In this book we make a distinction between three types of determin- istic proposition and one type of probabilistic proposition. Within the category of deterministic propositions we distinguish: ■ propositions that express that concept A is a sufficient condi- tion for concept B; ■ propositions that express that concept A is a necessary condi- tion for concept B; ■ propositions that express a deterministic relation between concept A and concept B. Within the category of probabilistic propositions we have the following type of propositions: ■ propositions that express a probabilistic relation between con- cept A and concept B. In business research, the proposition “A results in B” is usually impli- citly considered as a probabilistic relation: if there is more A, then it is likely that there is more B. A corresponding hypothesis would predict that for higher levels of the value of A the average level of the value of B would be higher. In terms of the example above, the hypothesis would predict that in a group of innovation projects selected for the study, the average success of Table 4.1 Correspondence between theoretical terms and theory-oriented research terms Theory Theory-oriented research Propositions Hypotheses Concepts VariablesParts
» BUKU | SAIDNA ZULFIQAR BIN TAHIR (VIKAR)
» Our definition of a case study
» Chapter 2: Case studies in business research
» Chapter 3: Principles of research Chapter 4: Theory-testing research general
» Chapters 10–11: Practice-oriented research Overview of the book
» Reading specific topics Overview of the book
» Suggestions for students How to read this book
» References BUKU | SAIDNA ZULFIQAR BIN TAHIR (VIKAR)
» Types of case study research
» Objectives of case study research
» Guidelines for case study research
» Evaluations of case study research
» Conclusion BUKU | SAIDNA ZULFIQAR BIN TAHIR (VIKAR)
» General research objectives of theory-oriented and practice-oriented research
» Orientation: how to choose between theory-oriented or practice-oriented research
» Theory Principles of theory-oriented research
» Theory-oriented research: contribution to theory development
» Replication Principles of theory-oriented research
» Representativeness, external validity, and generalizability
» Exploration of theory Exploration for theory-oriented research
» Exploration of practice for finding a proposition
» Exploration of practice for confirming the relevance of a proposition
» Contributions to theory development
» Practice Principles of practice-oriented research
» Practice-oriented research: contribution to a practitioner’s knowledge
» Exploration of practice Exploration for practice-oriented research
» Research objectives in theory-testing research
» Propositions that express a sufficient condition
» Propositions that express a necessary condition
» Propositions that express a deterministic relation
» Propositions that express a probabilistic relation
» Business relevance of propositions
» Strategy for testing a proposition that expresses a sufficient condition
» Strategy for testing a proposition that expresses a necessary condition
» Strategy for testing a proposition that expresses a deterministic relation
» Strategy for testing a proposition that expresses a probabilistic relation
» Testing more complex conceptual models
» Outcome and implications BUKU | SAIDNA ZULFIQAR BIN TAHIR (VIKAR)
» Summary BUKU | SAIDNA ZULFIQAR BIN TAHIR (VIKAR)
» Introduction How to test a sufficient or a necessary condition with a case study
» Candidate cases How to test a sufficient or a necessary condition with a case study
» Case selection How to test a sufficient or a necessary condition with a case study
» Hypothesis How to test a sufficient or a necessary condition with a case study
» Measurement How to test a sufficient or a necessary condition with a case study
» Data presentation Data analysis
» Replication strategy How to test a sufficient or a necessary condition with a case study
» Domain Conceptual model Theory
» Research objective Case Study 1: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Research strategy Case Study 1: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Candidate cases Case selection
» Hypotheses Case Study 1: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Measurement Case Study 1: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Radical innovation projects Data presentation
» Incremental innovation projects Data presentation
» Data analysis Case Study 1: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Replication strategy Case Study 1: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Theory Methodological reflection on Case Study 1
» Research objective Methodological reflection on Case Study 1
» Research strategy Methodological reflection on Case Study 1
» Candidate cases Methodological reflection on Case Study 1
» Case selection Methodological reflection on Case Study 1
» Hypothesis Measurement Methodological reflection on Case Study 1
» Data presentation Methodological reflection on Case Study 1
» Data analysis Methodological reflection on Case Study 1
» Replication strategy Methodological reflection on Case Study 1
» Research strategy Case Study 2: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Candidate cases Case Study 2: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Case selection Case Study 2: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Hypothesis Case Study 2: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Measurement Case Study 2: Theory-testing research: testing a necessary condition
» Theory Methodological reflection on Case Study 2
» Candidate cases Methodological reflection on Case Study 2
» Case selection Methodological reflection on Case Study 2
» Hypothesis Methodological reflection on Case Study 2
» Measurement Methodological reflection on Case Study 2
» Data presentation Methodological reflection on Case Study 2
» Data analysis Methodological reflection on Case Study 2
» Replication strategy Methodological reflection on Case Study 2
» Introduction How to test a deterministic relation with a case study
» Candidate cases How to test a deterministic relation with a case study
» Case selection How to test a deterministic relation with a case study
» Hypothesis How to test a deterministic relation with a case study
» Data analysis How to test a deterministic relation with a case study
» Replication strategy How to test a deterministic relation with a case study
» Introduction Case Study 3: Theory-testing research: testing a deterministic relation
» Research objective Case Study 3: Theory-testing research: testing a deterministic relation
» Research strategy Case Study 3: Theory-testing research: testing a deterministic relation
» Hypotheses Case Study 3: Theory-testing research: testing a deterministic relation
» Measurement Case Study 3: Theory-testing research: testing a deterministic relation
» Theory Methodological reflection on Case Study 3
» Research objective Research strategy
» Candidate cases Methodological reflection on Case Study 3
» Case selection Hypotheses Methodological reflection on Case Study 3
» Measurement Data presentation Methodological reflection on Case Study 3
» Introduction How to test a probabilistic relation with a case study
» Introduction Case Study 4: Theory-testing research: testing a probabilistic relation
» Research objective Case Study 4: Theory-testing research: testing a probabilistic relation
» Research strategy Case Study 4: Theory-testing research: testing a probabilistic relation
» Candidate cases Case Study 4: Theory-testing research: testing a probabilistic relation
» Case selection Case Study 4: Theory-testing research: testing a probabilistic relation
» Hypotheses Measurement Case Study 4: Theory-testing research: testing a probabilistic relation
» Data presentation Case Study 4: Theory-testing research: testing a probabilistic relation
» Data analysis Case Study 4: Theory-testing research: testing a probabilistic relation
» Theory Methodological reflection on Case Study 4
» Specifying the relation between known concepts
» Discovering a not yet known concept
» Discovering concepts and their relation
» Discovering concepts Principles of theory-building research
» Research strategies in theory-building research
» Outcome and implications Summary
» Introduction How to design and conduct a theory-building case study
» Candidate cases How to design and conduct a theory-building case study
» Case selection How to design and conduct a theory-building case study
» Extracting relevant evidence How to design and conduct a theory-building case study
» Coding How to design and conduct a theory-building case study
» Data presentation How to design and conduct a theory-building case study
» Sufficient condition Data analysis
» Necessary condition Data analysis
» Deterministic relation Data analysis
» Sufficient condition An example of data analysis
» Necessary condition An example of data analysis
» Deterministic relation Probabilistic relation
» Outcome How to design and conduct a theory-building case study
» Introduction Case Study 5: Theory-building research
» Candidate cases Case Study 5: Theory-building research
» Case selection Extracting relevant evidence
» Coding Case Study 5: Theory-building research
» Outcome Case Study 5: Theory-building research
» Justification of a theory-building case study
» Candidate cases Methodological reflection on Case Study 5
» Data analysis Methodological reflection on Case Study 5
» Outcome Methodological reflection on Case Study 5
» Research objective in hypothesis-testing research
» Research strategy in hypothesis-testing research
» Research objective in hypothesis-building research
» Research objective of descriptive practice-oriented research
» Research strategy of practice-oriented descriptive research
» Introduction How to design and conduct a practice-oriented case study
» Case selection How to design and conduct a practice-oriented case study
» Implications of the research results
» Introduction Case Study 6: Hypothesis-testing practice-oriented research
» Hypothesis Case Study 6: Hypothesis-testing practice-oriented research
» Measurement Case Study 6: Hypothesis-testing practice-oriented research
» Data analysis Case Study 6: Hypothesis-testing practice-oriented research
» Results and implications Case Study 6: Hypothesis-testing practice-oriented research
» Practice Methodological reflection on Case Study 6
» Research objective Methodological reflection on Case Study 6
» Case selection Methodological reflection on Case Study 6
» Measurement Methodological reflection on Case Study 6
» Data presentation Methodological reflection on Case Study 6
» Data analysis Methodological reflection on Case Study 6
» Implications for practice Methodological reflection on Case Study 6
» Introduction Case Study 7: Descriptive practice-oriented research
» Absence of guidelines or criteria
» Measurement Case Study 7: Descriptive practice-oriented research
» Data presentation Case Study 7: Descriptive practice-oriented research
» Concept definition Case Study 7: Descriptive practice-oriented research
» Implications Case Study 7: Descriptive practice-oriented research
» Practice Research objective Methodological reflection on Case Study 7
» Case selection Measurement Methodological reflection on Case Study 7
» Data presentation Methodological reflection on Case Study 7
» Data analysis Methodological reflection on Case Study 7
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