Leadership and strategic leadership

Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

 INTRODUCION

Chapter 1 explored the context and aims of the study. The chapter provided an overview of the study, the need for the study was explored, the research problem was discussed and the general research questions and research objectives were formulated.
In chapter 2, the theoretical and empirical knowledge of strategic leadership and strategic alignment were reviewed.
This chapter provides a description of the research design and methodology. This is followed by a discussion of quantitative research methods and a theoretical discussion of the research approach and methodology employed in this study. Thirdly, the methods selected to collect and analyse the data are described.

RESEARCH PARADIGM

The ultimate purpose of research is scientific explanation – to discover and document universal laws of human behaviour. Because research is systematic and controlled, it has the potential for fewer errors. People accordingly have confidence in the outcomes of empirical scientific research. Empirical refers to the way scientific information is collected through the senses and specialised scientific techniques. In scientific research, the researcher’s personal beliefs are put outside the scientific investigation and the ideal of objectivity is pursued (Neuman in Bipath, 2007: 84).
The basic aim of science is to build theory. Kerlinger and Lee (2000: 11) define theory as a set of interrelated constructs, definitions and propositions that present a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relationships between variables, the purpose of explaining and predicting the phenomena. Theories are regarded as working truth until they are reviewed during empirical research. Each theory is evaluated empirically to determine how well it predicts new findings. Theories can be used to guide the research plan by generating testable hypotheses and organise facts from testing these hypotheses (Bipath, 2007: 82).
A research design is a plan for selecting the sources and types of information used to answer the research question. It is a framework for specifying the relationships between the study’s variables and a blueprint that outlines each procedure from the hypotheses to the analysis of data (Cooper & Schindler, 1998: 130).
Different techniques may be used to accomplish the objective of exploration of a particular issue. Broadly speaking, both qualitative and quantitative techniques can be used and are the most frequently used approaches. These two research paradigms are often positioned as opposing approaches. Even though there is no specific rule prescribing that only one approach may be used in research, researchers usually embrace only one of the two approaches (Bipath, 2007: 82).
Mixed methods research has gained visibility in the last few years, although limitations persist regarding the scientific calibre of certain mixed methods research designs and methods. The need exists for rigorous mixed methods designs that integrate various data analytic procedures for a seamless transfer of evidence across qualitative and quantitative modalities. Such designs can offer the strength of confirmatory results drawn from quantitative multivariate analyses, along with “deep structure” explanatory descriptions as drawn from qualitative analyses (Castro, Kellison, Boyd & Kopak, 2010: 342).
In quantitative research, the aim is to determine the relationship between one thing (an independent variable) and another (a dependent or outcome variable) in a population. Quantitative research designs are either descriptive (subjects usually measured once) or experimental (subjects measured before and after a treatment). A descriptive study establishes only associations between variables, whereas an experiment using an empirical study establishes causality (Hopkins, 2000: 1).
Given the primary research question, the current study was framed within the positivist research paradigm (approach) – that is, it is quantitative in nature, its main purpose being to describe and explain (Neuman, 2000: 22). The quantitative paradigm was deemed appropriate for this study because it involved the systematic collection of measurable data, the statistical analysis of the data and the development of an analytical framework. The aim was to empirically examine the relationship between variables that were measureable and had accepted validated measurement instruments. In addition, the research attempted to quantitatively link the relationship between a specified set of variables.
According to Kerlinger and Lee (2000: 14), a scientific approach to research can be defined as “the systematic, controlled, empirical, amoral, public and critical investigation of natural phenomena. It is guided by theory and hypotheses about the presumed relations amongst such phenomena.”
This study makes a contribution to the body of knowledge about the relationship between strategic leadership and organisational alignment in high-performing companies.
The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between strategic leadership and strategic alignment in organisations in the 200 top listed companies in South Africa.
The focus of empirical study has been on leadership and to a lesser extent on alignment, and only recently on strategic leadership. As discussed in chapter 2, hardly any in-depth research on the impact of strategic leadership has been conducted in the South African context. Few doctoral studies have been completed on strategy and leadership in South Africa and even fewer have focused particularly on the direct and indirect impact of strategic leadership on the operational strategy and performance of business organisations in South Africa.
A study completed by Serfontein (2009) explored the impact of strategic leadership on the operational strategy and performance of business organisations in South Africa. The central theme of this study was that executives must accept full responsibility for strategic leadership (Serfontein, 2009: 23). A limitation of the study was the use of only one respondent per organisation, since it is possible that the use of more respondents per organisation could have provided a different picture and result of the implementation of strategic leadership practices (Serfontein, 2009: 246). However, this study did not explore the in-depth and complex nature of strategic leadership. Since only CEOs and senior executives of the organisation were consulted, it is possible that another study which examines the perception of top, middle and lower management would yield other results (Serfontein, 2009: 28).
As discussed in chapter 2, there are few studies on strategic leadership, but the limitation in most of the studies has been self-reporting by the CEO only, with no cross-verification included in the study to test if the responses of the CEO align with those of employees in the organisation. Serfontein (2007) maintains that the CEO is the best person to respond to questions on strategy for example. However, implementation of strategy occurs at operational level and numerous factors impact the effective implementation.
The linkage between strategic leadership and strategic alignment has not been empirically investigated in South Africa. This study explores that relationship. To achieve this objective, quantitative techniques were considered appropriate for this study because it involves the systematic collection of measurable data and their statistical analysis. The aim is to empirically examine the relationship between variables that are measurable and have accepted validated measurement instruments.

READ  THE LEADERSHIP ASPECT OF ORGANISATIONAL AMBIDEXTERITY

RESEARCH PROPOSITION AND HYPOTHESES

The research literature disagrees on the meanings of the terms “proposition” and “hypothesis”. Cooper and Schindler (1998: 43) define a proposition as a statement about concepts that may be judged as true or false if the statement refers to observable phenomena. When a proposition is formulated for empirical testing, it is called a hypothesis. As a declarative statement, a hypothesis is of a tentative and conjectural nature.
A hypothesis is a statement about the population. It may be right or wrong, and the data enables one to make a decision about which hypothesis to accept (Siegel, 1997: 342). Hypothesis testing uses data to decide between two possibilities.
In research, the main function of a hypothesis is to guide the direction of the study. Cooper and Schindler (1998: 45) maintain that an acceptable hypothesis should fulfil the following three conditions:
It must be adequate for its purpose.
It must be testable.
For explanatory purposes, it must be better than its rivals.
As already stated, the aim of this study was to explore the relationship between strategic leadership and strategic alignment. The criteria being examined were identified as critical to strategic leadership (Hitt et al., 1999) and subsequently supported by considerable research, as outlined in the literature review in chapter 2.
In order to achieve the general aim of this research, the following proposition and hypotheses were formulated for examination in this study:

Proposition 1:

The six selected critical criteria, namely determining strategic direction, exploiting and maintaining core competencies, developing human capital, sustaining effective corporate culture, emphasising ethical practices and establishing strategic controls are important for strategic leadership.

Hypotheses:

H01 There is no relationship between the following strategic leadership constructs: strategy, customers, processes and people.
H11 There is a relationship between the following strategic leadership constructs: strategy, customers, processes and people.
H02 There is no relationship between the four strategic leadership constructs and the six critical criteria of strategic leadership.
H12 There is a relationship between the four strategic leadership constructs and the six critical criteria of strategic leadership.
H03 Strategic leadership does not positively influence strategic alignment in high performance companies.
H13 Strategic leadership positively influences strategic alignment in high performance companies.
These hypotheses are empirically assessed in chapter 4, according to the research design outlined in this chapter.

VARIABLES AND MEASURES

Scientists operate at both theoretical and empirical levels. At theoretical level, there is a preoccupation with identifying constructs and their relations to propositions and theory – at this level, constructs cannot be observed. At the empirical level, where the propositions are converted to hypotheses and testing occurs, the scientist is likely to be dealing with variables (Cooper & Schindler, 1998: 40).

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background
1.3 Clarification of concepts
1.4 Progression of the study of strategic leadership
1.5 Research problem
1.6 Research design and methodology
1.7 Justification for the research
1.8 Significance of the research
1.9 Delimitation and scope of the research
1.10 Limitations of the study
1.11 Chapter layout
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW OF LEADERSHIP THEMES
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Leadership and strategic leadership
2.3 The strategic importance of corporate culture
2.4 Strategic alignment
2.5 Conclusion
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research paradigm
3.3 Research proposition and hypotheses
3.4 Variables and measures
3.5 Research methods
3.6 Sampling frame
3.7 Data collection procedures
3.8 Ethical considerations
3.9 Data analysis
3.10 Research analysis methodology
3.11 Summary and conclusions
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Profile of the population and population sample
4.3 Analysis of the results
4.4 Nature of the results
4.5 Proposition 1
4.6 Hypothesis 1
4.7 Hypothesis 2
4.8 Conclusion
4.9 Hypothesis 3
4.10 Summary and conclusions
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . 167
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Empirical findings
5.3 Findings on strategic leadership
5.4 Strategic alignment
5.5 Comparison of strategic leadership and strategic alignment: hypothesis 2
5.6 Hypothesis 3
5.7 Contributions of the study
5.8 Limitations of the study
5.9 Recommendations for further research
5.10 Conclusion
LIST OF REFERENCES
GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT

Related Posts