International Process of Swedish Engineering Sample

Both qualitative and quantitative research methods have been chosen for this dissertation, as the research question demands empirical and theoretical data. By using primary method of quantitative research, it would be possible to gather information related to the internationalization process of Swedish engineering firms. Similarly, use of secondary research methods as qualitative data would help in developing background information in relation to the Swedish engineering firms.

Advantages and disadvantages of Research Methods

Qualitative Research Method: Qualitative research methods provide quick access to the data that assists in developing in-depth understanding of research topic. On the other hand, these research methods sometimes result into validity and authenticity questions for the research findings.  

Quantitative Research Method: Quantitative research methods collect real information that assists in developing an authentic research. At the same time, these methods are time consuming and costly as compared to secondary research methods.

Data Collection

Data Collection is a significant section of research. Following elements will be covered for this research:

Source of Information

Sources of information play a very crucial role in any dissertation, as they provide needed data to address the research question and achieve objectives. During selection of sources, it is essential to consider their likely implications for the research. Like, if conference proceedings are used without any consent form, it might pose legal issues for the research. There are various sources of information that can be used to address the research question. These sources are company reports, books, theses, dissertation, textbook, people, conference proceedings, internet and journal articles (McBurney and White, 2009). All these sources of information have their own advantages and disadvantages. I would like to use books, articles, people, company reports and internet as sources of information to gather data on internationalization process of Swedish engineering firms.

Data Collection Methods

Data can be collected through primary, secondary or both methods for the research. For this research, both primary and secondary data collection methods will be used. It will help in collecting theoretical as well as empirical data over the research question. Data will be through online process like emails. Primary and secondary data collection methods will be used to address the research question. Under this, for primary data, survey through questionnaire will be conducted over the employees of Swedish engineering firms (Laurel, 2003). 100 employees of Swedish engineering firms will be selected as participants for the research. For secondary data, case study of 5 Swedish engineering firms will be conducted. Under this case study, background of firms, their objectives, internationalization process and initiatives taken to become an international firm will be assessed. It will help in developing background information for the research that is helpful in collecting primary data for the dissertation.

Available Opportunities for Data Gathering

There are various options that can be used for gathering data over the internationalization process of Swedish engineering firms. First is survey through questionnaire, under which 100 employees of Swedish can be used as participants to be interviewed. Second option is observation method in which, opinions, interest and views of people can be observed over research topic and questions. Third option is focus group interview, under which 8-10 people can be selected for interview to gather data over internationalization process of Swedish engineering firms. For secondary information, internet, journals, books, company reports, magazines, newspaper, conference proceedings etc can be used to gather data over Swedish engineering firms. Hence, it can be said that these are several opportunities that can be used by the researcher to gather relevant data over internationalization process of Swedish engineering firms. 

Potential Problems of Data Collection

There are various issues or problems that might make the data collection complex. First problem is data access. It is so, as sometimes; it becomes difficult to get approval of participants due to their designation and job (Cohen, Manion, Morrison and Morrison, 2007). Hence, it can be said that to avoid problem related to access, it is essential to get approval on time for primary research and use authentic database, books and articles for the secondary research. Another problem is related to the cost, as primary data collection methods are costly than secondary methods, so it might also create problem. Like, if the data collection method exceeds from the expected budget, it might cause problem for the researcher in managing other research. Here, it can be said that to avoid any cost related issue or problem, it is vital to select the cost effective data collection methods that are in budget. Third issue is time, sometimes short duration of data collection might also create problem in data collection for the research. So, it is essential to ensure that timeline set for the research is achievable and viable.

Permission from Company

Yes, permission of Swedish Companies will be required to ensure the authenticity of research. It will help in avoiding any ethical or legal dilemma or conflict in future. Along with this, permission from company will also develop confidence among people of company to take participation in the research process. People will be readily available for giving their information in terms of data for the research through online.

Ethical Issues in Research

Ethics forms the credibility of dissertation by ensuring that data is collected ethically. Ethical standards and guidelines if followed properly, can help in developing an authentic and validate research (Fowler, 2002). For this research, ethics will be required to ensure the reliability of data. To fulfill ethical code of conduct, privacy of data collected from participants will be maintained. Along with this, questions that are harmful for physical and emotional aspects of participants will be avoided in the questionnaire.

Data Analysis

Data analysis is an important part of dissertation (Harmsen, 2010). For this dissertation, following elements will be covered under data analysis part.

Analysis Process

To analyze the collected data, thematic analysis will be followed. Under this analysis, data will be divided into two themes that will be priori and posteriori themes.

Themes

Response collected by survey through questionnaire method of data collection will be divided into priori and posteriori themes.

Response Analysis

Yes, responses will be analyzed to groups of questions through thematic analysis. Under this analysis, response collected from groups of questions will be categorized under different themes based on their nature and context.

Format of Question

Yes, responses will be coded in a particular format. There are mainly two formats for questions that are closed and open ended. In several researches, only open ended questions are used. On the other hand, in some researches, only closed ended questions are followed. Furthermore, in some researches, both closed and open ended format of questions are used by the researches to solicit variety of responses (Jackson, 2010).

Both closed and open ended questions will be used for this dissertation. 10 questions will be formed in closed and open format to solicit the relevant data over internationalization process of Swedish engineering firms. Under closed ended questions, options will be given in the form of yes and no. Likert’s scale will be also used in the closed questions that will measure the answer on five basic aspects that are strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree.  In open ended questions, options or alternatives will be not given to the respondents (Groves et al, 2011). Under these forms of questions, employees will be given free choices to answer the respective questions on the basis of their interest, attitude and opinions. It will help the respondents to give answer without any limitations or boundary.

Under the open ended questions, respondents might give answer in terms of internationalization, its process, global business strategies of their respective firms, business expansion strategies, communication strategies, cross cultural strategies etc.  Along with this, they might also provide information over the benefits taken by their firms due to internationalization process. It is so, as respondents will be free to give their answer due to lack of any option limitation, so they can give in-depth information over internationalization process of Swedish engineering firms.

Response Framework

The types of responses will be used to develop a framework for the research. Under this framework, both prior and posterior themes will be used. Under priori themes, data collected in first session will be presented. In posteriori themes, themes that are developed after reanalysis of priori themes will be used. Tables will be also used as framework for presenting the data effectively. It will help in analyzing the results in a systematic way.  
IssuesThere are various issues that will be explored in this research. These are following:

• Background of Swedish engineering firms
• Concepts of Internationalization Process
• Internationalization Process of Swedish engineering firms  
• Activities of internationalization process used by Swedish engineering firms
• Benefits gained by Swedish engineering firms after internationalization process

No, I will not use any public documents for this research. The data will be collected by survey through questionnaire and case study analysis methods of the research, so there is no need of using any public document to gather data in this research. In document analysis, issues related to access, cost and time might be faced. So, due to these issues, public documents will be not analyzed.

Statistical Techniques

Statistical techniques are of different forms like regression analysis, measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, spreadsheet, pie charts, histograms etc that can be used to present and analyze the collected data (Jackson, 2011). In order to maintain the validity and reliability of research findings, it is vital to follow or use statistical measure or techniques. In this research, there is no need of using any in-depth or major statistical technique. So, for this research, graphs, charts and tables will be used as statistical techniques to present and measure the response of participants. It will assist in making the data presentation and analysis clear for the readers. Response of participants will be measured in terms of % to statistically present the data. Percentage of collected data will be given as per the selected measures like five elements of Likert’s scale. It will help in maintaining the validity of research findings that is essential to develop a credible dissertation.

Expected Findings

Main findings of this dissertation will be as follow:

• Swedish engineering firms follow internationalization process to take advantage of globalization.
• Swedish engineering firms have benefitted from internationalization process in terms of their growth rate, customer base nd profitability.  
• Recommendations for other Swedish engineering firms.

Business/ Theory Implications

There are several business/theory implications that can be used for further researches or strategies. These are as follow:

• Internationalization process could be used by other firms to get advantage of global marketplace in terms of business expansion
• Internationalization process could be used as theory to translate medium firms into international firms

Time Scale & Plan

Time scale in a research plays a crucial role in deciding particular time of completing each research activity. So, for this dissertation, a particular time scale would be followed to avoid any obstacle in future for the research. Plan in a research is a systematic format that guides about different activities of research. Therefore, planned format for dissertation would be also followed to ensure the development of a well structured dissertation. It will help in determining which activity of dissertation should be done first and which activity should be done in last.

References

• Bergh, D. D., and Ketchen, D. J., 2009. Research Methodology in Strategy and Management. UK: Emerald Group Publishing
• Denzin, N. K., and Lincoln, Y. S., 2011. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. USA: SAGE.
• Fowler, F.J., 2002. Survey Research Methods. 3rd edn. USA: SAGE.  
• Goddard, W., and Melville, S., 2004. Research Methodology: An Introduction. Lansdowne: Juta and Company Ltd.
• Groves, R.M et al., 2011. Survey Methodology. 2nd edn. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

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