Table A1 Summary of research credibility... | Emerald Publishing

Table A1

Summary of research credibility

Test	Tactic	Research Stage	Operationalisation
Construct Validity	Using multiple sources of evidence to enable triangulation of data	Exploratory stage and In-depth case research stage	Evidence was collected from multiple groups of informants at buyer side (e.g. data specialists, maintenance experts and contract managers) regarding both the buyer side as well as supplier side Gained access to contract documents governing the relationships under investigation Additional documentary evidence (e.g. firm documents and government reports) and observational notes were collected to support data triangulation
	Establishing a clear chain of evidence	In-depth case research stage	Detailed case study descriptions written, based on all sources of evidence, to uncover information processing activities and governance mechanisms used in investigated relationships Original material (e.g. interview transcripts and documentary evidence) is referenced throughout the paper
	Letting key informants review draft reports	In-depth case research stage	Case study descriptions were discussed during extensive meetings that included both the two lead authors as well as a small selection of key informants from both case organisations to verify our analyses Informal talks by the lead author with a selection of key informants to clarify interview transcripts
(Internal and External) Validity	Using replication logic in multiple case studies (pattern matching)	In-depth case research stage	Analysis of case studies was guided by several main concepts that were derived from existing literature (IPT and governance mechanisms) Built on “analytical generalisation” by seeking to identify patterns across the four case Case studies aimed to generalise to some wider theory (i.e. IPT), rather than to a population
Reliability	Interview protocol	Exploratory stage and In-depth case research stage	Interview protocols were established based on concepts from existing literature and they contained the procedures and questions for data collection during both research stages
Reliability	Case study database	Exploratory stage and In-depth case research stage	We created a case study database in Atlas.ti and Windows File Explorer while collecting data including, for instance interview transcripts, observational notes and contract documents

Test	Tactic	Research Stage	Operationalisation
Construct Validity	Using multiple sources of evidence to enable triangulation of data	Exploratory stage and In-depth case research stage	Evidence was collected from multiple groups of informants at buyer side (e.g. data specialists, maintenance experts and contract managers) regarding both the buyer side as well as supplier side Gained access to contract documents governing the relationships under investigation Additional documentary evidence (e.g. firm documents and government reports) and observational notes were collected to support data triangulation
	Establishing a clear chain of evidence	In-depth case research stage	Detailed case study descriptions written, based on all sources of evidence, to uncover information processing activities and governance mechanisms used in investigated relationships Original material (e.g. interview transcripts and documentary evidence) is referenced throughout the paper
	Letting key informants review draft reports	In-depth case research stage	Case study descriptions were discussed during extensive meetings that included both the two lead authors as well as a small selection of key informants from both case organisations to verify our analyses Informal talks by the lead author with a selection of key informants to clarify interview transcripts
(Internal and External) Validity	Using replication logic in multiple case studies (pattern matching)	In-depth case research stage	Analysis of case studies was guided by several main concepts that were derived from existing literature (IPT and governance mechanisms) Built on “analytical generalisation” by seeking to identify patterns across the four case Case studies aimed to generalise to some wider theory (i.e. IPT), rather than to a population
Reliability	Interview protocol	Exploratory stage and In-depth case research stage	Interview protocols were established based on concepts from existing literature and they contained the procedures and questions for data collection during both research stages
Reliability	Case study database	Exploratory stage and In-depth case research stage	We created a case study database in Atlas.ti and Windows File Explorer while collecting data including, for instance interview transcripts, observational notes and contract documents

Source(s): Adapted from Gibbert et al. (2008), Yin (2009)