Aim This paper is a description of inductive and deductive content analysis. Background Content analysis is a method that may be used with either qualitative or quantitative data and in an inductive or deductive way. Qualitative content analysis is commonly used in nursing studies but little has been published on the analysis process and many research books generally only provide a short description of this method. Discussion When using content analysis, the aim was to build a model to describe the phenomenon in a conceptual form. Both inductive and deductive analysis processes are represented as three main phases: preparation, organizing and reporting. The preparation phase is similar in both approaches. The concepts are derived from the data in inductive content analysis. Deductive content analysis is used when the structure of analysis is operationalized on the basis of previous knowledge. Conclusion Inductive content analysis is used in cases where there are no previous studies dealing with the phenomenon or when it is fragmented. A deductive approach is useful if the general aim was to test a previous theory in a different situation or to compare categories at different time periods.

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The qualitative content analysis process

Qualitative content analysis is commonly used for analyzing qualitative data. However, few articles have examined the trustworthiness of its use in nursing science studies. The trustworthiness of q...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2158244014522633

Qualitative Content Analysis: A Focus on Trustworthiness

What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Increasingly, researchers in the field of intellectual capital (IC) need to be able to justify the specific research methods they use to collect the empirical data that they examine to support and test opinions regarding the merit of different approaches to managing and reporting IC. Of the various methods available to researchers seeking to understand intellectual capital reporting (ICR), content analysis is the most popular. The aim of this paper is to review the use of content analysis as a research method in understanding ICR and to offer some observations on the practical utility of the method. Further, the paper examines several research method issues relating to the use of content analysis that have been discussed in the social environmental accounting literature, but not as yet in the IC literature, which we believe are relevant to investigations underway in the field of ICR. This paper reports on several developmental issues we have confronted when using content analysis to examine the voluntary disclosure of IC in annual reports by various organisations. The paper also suggests two theoretical foundations for further investigation into the voluntary disclosure of IC by organisations, and suggests why content analysis is well matched to both these theories as a means to collect empirical data to test research propositions.

Using content analysis as a research method to inquire into intellectual capital reporting

Purpose – Inconsistent research output makes critical literature reviews crucial tools for assessing and developing the knowledge base within a research field. Literature reviews in the field of supply chain management (SCM) are often considerably less stringently presented than other empirical research. Replicability of the research and traceability of the arguments and conclusions call for more transparent and systematic procedures. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the importance of literature reviews in SCM.Design/methodology/approach – Literature reviews are defined as primarily qualitative synthesis. Content analysis is introduced and applied for reviewing 22 literature reviews of seven sub‐fields of SCM, published in English‐speaking peer‐reviewed journals between 2000 and 2009. A descriptive evaluation of the literature body is followed by a content analysis on the basis of a specific pattern of analytic categories derived from a typical research process.Findings – Each paper was assess...

Conducting content‐analysis based literature reviews in supply chain management

Purpose – To explore the hypothesis that differences in intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) practices can be explained, if in part, by industrial sector (traditional; knowledge intensive) and nationality of origin (Italy; UK).Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis of the annual reports of two reasonably matched samples of both high‐technology and traditional non‐financial firms in Italy and the UK. Univariate and multivariate analyses are then used to test the hypothesis proposed.Findings – Size and industrial sector are found to be predictors of levels of ICD; the hypothesis relating nationality of origin to ICD is not supported.Research limitations/implications – The main limitation relates to sample size due to the onerous nature of this form of research. Further research following this matched‐sample methodology should attempt to maximise sample sizes allowing for the incorporation of more specific nationally of origin factors.Practical implications – Owing to the increasing importance of in...

Intellectual capital disclosure (ICD): A comparison of Italy and the UK

Purpose – The paper's aim is to examine processes used to control the management of knowledge resources in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to compare the findings with the underlying assumptions and prescriptions of intellectual capital guidelines designed for SMEs.Design/methodology/approach – An in‐depth case study of a successful Australian SME is conducted to identify the means used to control strategizing and the management of knowledge resources.Findings – It was found that informal, intensive dialogue based processes, structured by an overriding management philosophy, governed strategization and the management of knowledge resources. These governance processes were affected by a combination of formal and informal controls and serendipitous outcomes.Research limitations/implications – The paper examines only one organization and the study can be extended to other SMEs to develop more detailed specific policy recommendations.Practical implications – Intellectual capital management guidelines ...

The management of knowledge resources in SMEs: an Australian case study

1. Introduction 2. Analysis of Contemporary IC Frameworks 3. MKR in Practice: Danish Developments 4. MKR in Practice: International Developments 5. Strategic Management of Knowledge Resources Framework. Appendix A. Appendix B

Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management: Strategic Management of Knowledge Resources

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it examines nuances that specific camouflaging perspectives provide to enhance traditional and widely adopted theories in social and environmental accounting. Second, within research on camouflaging, the paper stimulates multidisciplinarity and cross-fertilization by presenting recent developments in organizational theory that hold promise for enhancing our understanding of camouflaging. Finally, it discusses how the research contributions published in this special issue help advance the notion of corporate camouflaging. Design/methodology/approach – The paper makes use of an extensive literature review and discusses research implications related with the choice of theoretical framework. Findings – The idea of camouflaging may provide narrower and more refined perspective(s) that can help researchers delve deeper into their topic of interest and thereby support potentially substantive contributions to the field. Originality/value – The paper offers ...

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Behind camouflaging: traditional and innovative theoretical perspectives in social and environmental accounting research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer an empirical account of how a group of financial professionals uses intellectual capital (IC) information, and the value that the group imputes to IC reporting. The paper also aims to understand the group's ability to privately access information that might help them determine the value of a company's IC in support of their decision‐making.Design/methodology/approach – Survey administered to a group of financial professionals in Hong Kong.Findings – Respondents would like companies to be more transparent and provide more information on their IC. Respondents believe that greater IC disclosure would be rewarded with an increase in the company's share price – even though few respondents thought that they would pay more themselves for enhanced disclosure. Further, most respondents seem to be currently addressing their IC information needs through private information channels, and rate the publicly provided information as poorly suited to their needs.Practical im...

Federica Ricceri

Papers

Intellectual capital disclosure (ICD): A comparison of Italy and the UK

The management of knowledge resources in SMEs: an Australian case study

Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management: Strategic Management of Knowledge Resources

Behind camouflaging: traditional and innovative theoretical perspectives in social and environmental accounting research

Intellectual capital: a user's perspective