Verifying rigor: analyzing qualitative research in international marketing
International Marketing Review
ISSN: 0265-1335
Article publication date: 12 August 2021
Issue publication date: 26 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
There has been a growing call regarding broad criteria for assessing qualitative methods' reliability and validity in international marketing (IM) research. In response, this study synthesizes the past literature to present an overarching, yet adaptable, trustworthiness verification framework for assessing the rigor of various qualitative methods used in IM.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on qualitative research from various disciplines. It uses content analysis to examine how trustworthiness is conceptualized in qualitative studies in International Marketing Review (IMR) from 2005 to 2019.
Findings
The analysis reveals that strategies to ensure rigor and trustworthiness of qualitative research in IMR are partially applied. There remain gaps in implementing quality criteria across the trustworthiness dimensions of credibility, transferability, dependability, conformability and ethics.
Research limitations/implications
This paper highlights the importance of incorporating strategies for assessing the quality of qualitative research in IM research. Since the analysis only focused on IMR, future research should explore and test the framework in other IM and business journals to reach a broader consensus in assessing qualitative studies' rigor.
Originality/value
IM researchers have yet to develop a consensus regarding broad criteria for assessing qualitative methods' reliability and validity. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Tareq Bafaqeeh, post-doctoral student, who assisted with preliminary paper identification, sorting and feedback.
Funding: The authors acknowledge, School of Business, Saint Louis University for research support.
Citation
Singh, N., Benmamoun, M., Meyr, E. and Arikan, R.H. (2021), "Verifying rigor: analyzing qualitative research in international marketing", International Marketing Review, Vol. 38 No. 6, pp. 1289-1307. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-03-2020-0040
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited