Appendix - Methodological considerations

Summary

In our text and especially in the five chapters that focus on the licenses (Chapters 5–9), we refer to findings and observations gained from our empirical research. It is therefore appropriate to clarify here some basic aspects of how this research was conducted. In the following section the basic features of the methodology are discussed.

The researcher’s choice and responsibility

All researchers make specific choices regarding theories and empirical methods. Even though the arguments for these choices are made in accordance with scientific standards, the research questions, the literature and mainstream research, these choices are primarily based on the researcher’s values, experience, education and socialization within the scientific community. Furthermore, while working with and on theories and conducting empirical investigations, one is relying on the basic assumptions of these theories that either allow or limit insights. No matter what the field or object of research, it is never value neutral or totally objective. The choice of specific theories, and the thereby chosen or constructed basic assumptions, relate to the person doing the research. Economic theory and therefore also strategic management is shaped by those assumptions.