I'm writing a thesis related to political systems affecting MNCs' ability to operate in regions, I'm planning on using a grounded theory approach but integrating it with either a symbolic interactionist approach or a phenomenology approach - I've been told a symbolic interactionist approach would be better... Any thoughts?
furthermore, how would I go about combining a grounded theory approach and a symbolic interactionist approach?
Cheers!
Both the symbolic interactionist and phenomenology approaches can be useful for understanding how political systems affect MNCs' ability to operate in regions, but based on the information you've provided, a symbolic interactionist approach may be better suited for your research question. Symbolic interactionism focuses on how individuals and groups create and interpret symbols in their social interactions, and how these symbols shape their understanding and behavior in social situations. This approach can be particularly useful for examining the ways in which MNCs and local actors interact in different political contexts, and how these interactions shape the MNCs' ability to operate in those regions.
To combine a grounded theory approach with a symbolic interactionist approach, you could use the grounded theory approach to generate and test hypotheses about the interactions between MNCs and local actors in different political systems, while using the symbolic interactionist approach to analyze how the actors involved create and interpret symbols that shape these interactions. For example, you could use grounded theory to identify key variables that influence MNCs' ability to operate in different regions, and then use symbolic interactionism to analyze how these variables are interpreted and acted upon by different actors in those regions.
Ajit Singh - to be more specific, I'm only looking at one political system the Hong Kong/Chinese Communist Party system, and its effect on MNCs in Hong Kong (specifically US MNCs) - is an integrated symbolic interventionist and grounded theory approach still suitable?
furthermore, I've seen research which has the research methods of grounded theory and the research philosophy of symbolic interventionism, is that what I should be doing, or should I be integrating these both as methods?
Thank you!
An integrated approach that combines both symbolic interventionism and grounded theory could allow you to explore both the broader social and political context of Hong Kong and the specific experiences of US MNCs operating in that context. You could use symbolic interventionism to explore the meanings and interpretations of key actors in the Hong Kong/Chinese Communist Party system, and then use grounded theory to develop more specific theories about how US MNCs are affected by these dynamics.
Anselm Strauss, one of the founders of Grounded Theory, was a Symbolic Interactionist, so many researchers who use GT also follow SI as their theoretical orientation. But as the name implies, SI is primarily about the effects of interaction between individuals, along with how inter-personal relationships affect issues such as identity.
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