Table 4 Method of ensuring... | Emerald Publishing

Table 4

Method of ensuring trustworthiness in research process

Trustworthiness criteria	Explanations	How criteria were met in this study
Credibility	Refers to the internal validity of the study and concerns the extent to which the research process accurately represents the phenomenon under investigation	Job advertisements were sourced from reputable platforms and collected over 2019–2020 to reduce temporal bias Dataset included ads explicitly focused on LSC roles, with conceptualisation grounded in literature (Introduction and Section 2.2) Job titles and contents were reviewed for relevance; duplicates and irrelevant ads were removed Initial coding was informed by the first author's familiarisation with a subset of ads; a second coder cross-verified coding for consistency
Dependability	Refers to consistency and stability of the research process, particularly how researchers interpret the data	A priori codes from literature (Supplementary file Table A) guided analysis Intercoder agreement ensured coding consistency Second-order themes were consolidated into aggregate competency dimensions Transparent description of procedures and links between data and results
Confirmability	The degree to which findings are derived from the data rather than researcher bias, emphasising objectivity and auditable procedures	Content analysis protocol applied following Mayring (2015), with careful data collection and secure storage First- and second-order codes explicitly separated; competency framework developed and refined through team discussions Supplementary file Table A and Table 3 present thematic structure Interpretations grounded in the data, ensuring objectivity
Transferability	The extent to which findings can be applied or adapted to other settings, based on clear contextual boundary conditions	Sample selection and research setting described in detail Content analysis and literature review provided in-depth exploration of supply chain competencies Competency dimensions and related competencies documented; codes emerged inductively and were validated against literature Intercoder agreement ensured coding consistency Use of consistent definitions and evaluation approaches (LSC and competency categories) facilitates application to other contexts

Trustworthiness criteria	Explanations	How criteria were met in this study
Credibility	Refers to the internal validity of the study and concerns the extent to which the research process accurately represents the phenomenon under investigation	Job advertisements were sourced from reputable platforms and collected over 2019–2020 to reduce temporal bias Dataset included ads explicitly focused on LSC roles, with conceptualisation grounded in literature (Introduction and Section 2.2) Job titles and contents were reviewed for relevance; duplicates and irrelevant ads were removed Initial coding was informed by the first author's familiarisation with a subset of ads; a second coder cross-verified coding for consistency
Dependability	Refers to consistency and stability of the research process, particularly how researchers interpret the data	A priori codes from literature (Supplementary file Table A) guided analysis Intercoder agreement ensured coding consistency Second-order themes were consolidated into aggregate competency dimensions Transparent description of procedures and links between data and results
Confirmability	The degree to which findings are derived from the data rather than researcher bias, emphasising objectivity and auditable procedures	Content analysis protocol applied following Mayring (2015), with careful data collection and secure storage First- and second-order codes explicitly separated; competency framework developed and refined through team discussions Supplementary file Table A and Table 3 present thematic structure Interpretations grounded in the data, ensuring objectivity
Transferability	The extent to which findings can be applied or adapted to other settings, based on clear contextual boundary conditions	Sample selection and research setting described in detail Content analysis and literature review provided in-depth exploration of supply chain competencies Competency dimensions and related competencies documented; codes emerged inductively and were validated against literature Intercoder agreement ensured coding consistency Use of consistent definitions and evaluation approaches (LSC and competency categories) facilitates application to other contexts

Source(s): Authors' own work