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Corporate elites as informants in qualitative international business research

Author

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  • Welch, Catherine
  • Marschan-Piekkari, Rebecca
  • Penttinen, Heli
  • Tahvanainen, Marja

Abstract

In this article we argue that while most international business researchers interact with elite informants at some stage of their fieldwork, the challenge of conducting in-depth interviews with influential elites has received far too little scholarly attention. Our purpose is to address this gap in the literature by examining the specific methodological challenges associated with elite interviewing before, during and after the interview. Our literature search identifies four main themes of previous research on elite interviewing: access, power, openness and feedback. By means of a reflexive analysis of four different studies conducted in two countries, involving interviews with 90 corporate elites in international companies, we show that these themes also apply in the IB context. Moreover, these challenges are compounded by differences in professional values, seniority, gender and culture and language skills. We discuss a number of procedures that might be used to balance the power of elite interviewees while maintaining the requirements of academic integrity.

Suggested Citation

  • Welch, Catherine & Marschan-Piekkari, Rebecca & Penttinen, Heli & Tahvanainen, Marja, 2002. "Corporate elites as informants in qualitative international business research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 611-628, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:11:y:2002:i:5:p:611-628
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. L McDowell, 1998. "Elites in the City of London: Some Methodological Considerations," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 30(12), pages 2133-2146, December.
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    4. Harzing, Anne-Wil, 1997. "Response rates in international mail surveys: Results of a 22-country study," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(6), pages 641-665, December.
    5. Yeung, Henry Wai-chung, 1995. "Qualitative personal interviews in international business research: Some lessons from a study of Hong Kong Transnational Corporations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 313-339, September.
    6. A Cochrane, 1998. "Illusions of Power: Interviewing Local Elites," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 30(12), pages 2121-2132, December.
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