Professors Anita Bosch, Stellenbosch Business School, Obaa Akua Konadu-Osei, Maastricht University,and Smaranda Boros, Vlerick Business School,dissect how the historical dominance of Western research methodologies have limited the strength of research output in non-Western regions and propose the adoption of an alternative, cultural-specific approach for research in business ethics.

Business Ethics Research: Long overdue for a revamp by CoBS Editor Michelle Diaz and Anita Bosch. Related research: Methodological Decolonisation and Local Epistemologies in Business Ethics Research, Obaa Akua Konadu‑Ose, Smaranda Boros, Anita Bosch, Journal of Business Ethics.

Why does research into methodologies matter?

Academic research is in large part, a purview of a particular group of highly educated people. But there is a reason why some of the best universities and business schools in the world compete with each other using generous stipends to attract doctoral students: the production of research is a public good, with findings serving to further humanity’s knowledge.

And since human beings, as a category, is inclusive of all the tapestry of humanity, it follows that producing the most reliable and advanced research must account for this myriad of differences. Unfortunately, for research in business ethics, this is not the case. In the review of previous research, Prof. Anita Bosch and her colleagues found that Western methodologies reign supreme in global research.

As such, in non-Western contexts, the disconnect in research methodologies and their respective subjects perpetuates exclusion, assert Anita Bosch et al. By failing to account for differences, research not only falls short of serving the larger public good, it runs counter to serving humanity. Hence this research on how this issue can be amended, by taking a case sample look into sub-Saharan African epistemology – how we figure out what’s true and valid – as a means to improve research in the African region.

The Requirement for a middle ground

Despite the need for more inclusive research methods, it remains the case that the methods so far dominating in the West have done so for good reason: they have been tested time and again to be of high quality.

But Prof. Bosch and colleagues also point out that the goal is not to create a binary approach, wherein one approach is dictated by the region of the world it investigates. But rather, to achieve a balance between the rigour associated with conventional practice and culturally sensitive methodologies that accounts for the differences in people. In so doing, the academic community can produce research that is both reliable and inclusive, which in turn serves the public interest.

What does having a middle ground in research look like?

Historically, one of the prevailing frictions in how knowledge is perceived is that between collectivism – grounded in goals shared by a culture or group – and individualism – shaped by the freedom of the individual over the collective group, culture or state. This friction extends to the realm of academic research, creating a binary approach – either one or the other.

But Prof. Bosch et al point out that it shouldn’t necessarily be the case, given the existence of interpretivism as Western methodology which regards knowledge as both socially constructed and understood from an individual’s perspective. Interpretivism therefore, is not in contradiction with the collectivism associated with non-Western methods.

In this light, to meet at a middle ground, the researchers fused interpretivism with ubuntu, a sub-Saharan concept of humanism that believes in the inherent interconnectedness of humans to one another and their respective environments. They argue that interpretivism-based research can be complemented using the philosophy of ubuntu, thus illustrating that “methodological decolonization” is possible.

More concretely, this meant that the collection, analysis, and value of a particular focus of research will have to be validated through the concept of ubuntu – framing inherent relevance across cultures. And while ubuntu bears similarities with other philosophies, some of which are Western, it is complementary to both Western and non-Western methodologies.

Indeed, on the ground, the repercussions of the fusion can be seen via the consultation of local community elders on the vitality of the research topic and access to people, listening for understanding without dismissing information that seems confusing or doesn’t make sense at first, the publication of academic papers in local language, the reality that the community is the primary context of information and also double-checks information accuracy, and joint ownership of knowledge.

Research: Implications for business ethics

So, what does this fusion between Interpretivism and ubuntu mean for business ethics research and are the implications actually significant? According to Anita Bosch and her fellow researchers, it truly is. Since methodology affects research agenda, the flashlight that determines which questions are worthy of investigation requires greater balance.

As such, research agendas must be navigated in consideration of the access available to them and the power-relations present in the environment of a particular study. And consequently, asserts Prof. Anita Bosch, execution must be context-sensitive in that it understands, respects, and avoids perpetuating paradigms that take the Western ways of investigation and understanding as superior.

The world economy is run in large part by capitalism, a purview of business as a practice, study, and a livelihood. In fact, business is so powerful that we get daily news of companies large and small swaying governments, solving some of the world’s most pressing problems, and in the same breath, contributing to humanity’s existential threat: climate change.

If amending the way we conduct research on business ethics can tip the scale towards the humanity-serving quality of business, then blending Western and non-Western approaches in how we approach creating knowledge will surely be worthwhile.

Useful links:

• Link up with Anita Bosch, Obaa Akua Konadu‑Ose, and Smaranda Boros on LinkedIn
• Read a related article: Research and teaching in business schools: Can the two go together?
• Discover Stellenbosch Business School
• Apply to study at Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa.

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