Selection of case companies and data collection

Yin (1994) has stated that there are two possibilities that multiple case studies follow – either it is conducted on the basis literal replication or theoretical replication basic logic.

For this study a theoretical approach has been chosen and also, the cases were selected by means of theoretical rather than statistical sampling. (Yin, 1998). “Theoretical replication (where the cases are designed to cover different theoretical conditions). In the latter case, one might expect different results but for predictable reasons” (Yin, 1998)

The cases selected in this study are all working in the industrial symbiosis or are familiar with the circular economy and have knowledge of the importance of working with stakeholders. All the companies chosen for the study are different in size but all share strong focus in industrial symbiosis and either professional experience or extensive knowledge of engaging in proactive stakeholder relationships.

4.2 Selection of case companies and data collection

The selection of case companies was done intensely and with time in order to get the right informants considering the qualitative nature of this study. As it was mentioned earlier the companies chosen for the study all shared their experience in the field of industrial symbiosis either by directly working in them or being professional advisers on the matter.

The interviews are an important part of this thesis and the time gathering and finding the right interviewees formed a substantial part. The information for each case has been gathered through interviews. Qualitative research considers in-depth interviews technique to be optimal when conducting research on experiences and practices. “In-depth interviewing is a qualitative research technique that involves conducting intensive individual interviews with a small number of respondents to explore their perspectives on a particular idea, program, or situation” (Boyce & Neale, 2006, p.3)

44 All the interviews were voice recorded with permission of the interviewees. After this the information that had been collected were analyzed and there were different patterns that were linked together using tables, list or by writing participants’ statements down.

Theoretical sampling was used when the choices were being made of the interviewees. It was important for this study that the informants possessed information on both of the subjects’ concerning CSR and stakeholder engagement as well as knowledge about industrial symbiosis. When finding the right applicants for the interview the candidate needed the following attributes:

1. Preferably an industrial symbiosis expert or in a management position: OR an expert with a relevant experience concerning industrial symbioses

2. A decision maker in regard to industrial symbiosis development.

3. Working experience in the industrial symbiosis 4. Knowledge about stakeholder engagement

Therefore, the aim of the research was to get a wider representation of stakeholder management practices regarding industrial symbiosis by constructing interviews predominantly with informants that have appropriate knowledge and experiences in the field.

The participants were widely interested in the topic and all shared the same passion in developing industrial symbiosis and its business opportunities further. Cases include interviews either with people who had their own company connected to industrial symbiosis or big industrial organizations sharing collaborative functions within the industrial symbiosis. All the informants worked in a position where they could affect the strategical decisions of the organization.

There were 5 interviews in total with 5 different companies. Two of the interviews were conducted at the interviewee’s place of work and three with skype due to the geographical limitations. The interviewee’s details are provided in Table 4. The interviews were conducted anonymously hence the names created for the companies are imaginary.

45 Table 4 “Background of the interview participants”

No. The

4 Delta D1 Senior Expert Skype Specialties: industrial symbiosis, resource

46 All the interviews lasted approximately an hour. Before the interviews were conducted the email exchange took place where the aim of the thesis was explained and research scope offered. The interview questions were created using the literature review on the matter that was conducted in a first phase of the study and it was used to in creating a framework around the research question and its sub-questions.

The first part of the questions evolved around the definition on industrial symbiosis and CSR in order to bring clarification on the matter that was the interviewee familiar with the topic and could the participant bring an own perception on the matter because there does not exist a clear definition on either of the subject. Also the first part aimed to cover that what are the similarities between these concepts.

The second part of the questions aimed to bring a management viewpoint to industrial symbioses and formulated questions in order to bring answers to questions that could help assessing the importance of social relations in the industrial symbioses. Questions such as

“How important are social aspects (communication with stakeholders) in the management of industrial symbiosis?” and “Can you think of other factors that are important for the success of industrial symbiosis?” as well as “What are the biggest challenges concerning industrial symbiosis from the management viewpoint?” were presented.

The third part studied the strategical implementation of industrial symbioses with stakeholder engagement approach and aimed to show how beneficial different activities of engaging stakeholders in the process might prove out to be. Questions can be found from the appendix.