Abstract

In general, small businesses fail to conduct systematic enquiry (research) effectively. Unwillingness to perform research is not only a matter of skill deficiency, but a function of cultural adaptiveness, in that the scientific, mathematically based model often does not “fit” into a small-business organizational reality. Using data obtained from 20 in-depth interviews, the authors have developed a culturally derived approach to the data-gathering process. Central to this model are the assumptions that, with exceptions, the scientific method is inappropriate; that research is a political activity; that stakeholder-based qualitative research concepts can support the present reliance on family/friends/suppliers; that mathematical sophistication and nomenclature must be appropriate; that any conclusion reached as a result of research activity will be tested against the “folk wisdom” furnished by family, friends and suppliers. It is concluded that those who manage smaller enterprises will continue to place a high discount rate on the deferred benefits of research unless methodologies are developed that integrate research into the decision-making process. The authors suggest that culturally- based research methods have the potential to change attitudinal constructs that inhibit formal research in smaller businesses.