THE CORPORATE INTERVIEW AS A RESEARCH METHOD IN ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY* |
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| Authors: | Erica Schoenberger |
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| Institution: | ERICA SCHOENBERGER is An Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering of The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218. She has written on the investment strategies of multinational corporations, the electronics and automobile industries, and industrial flexibility. Currently she is engaged in collaborative research with historians of science on the origins of high technology industrial complexes. |
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| Abstract: | The open-ended corporate interview as a qualitative research method is proposed as a valuable component of an evidentiary strategy in economic geography. It is argued to be more sensitive than other survey methods to historical, institutional, and strategic complexity. The corporate interview method is particularly appropriate in periods of economic and social change that challenge traditional analytical categories and theoretical principles. Some problems inherent to the method, and strategies for minimizing their impact on the research project, are described. |
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| Keywords: | corporate interview qualitative research research methods economic geography |
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