1. Welcome
1.1 For Sunfoods
1.2 For the Academic Reader
2. The Abstract
3. Thesis Introduction
3.1. The Aim
3.2. Research Background
3.3. The Research Topics
3.4. The Targeted Audience
3.5. Disposition
4. Research Method
4.1. The Constructive Research Method
4.2. The Research Process
4.3. Information Gathering
page1
page 2
4.4. Export Guide and Questionnaire Construction
4.5. Analysis Method, Conclusions and Thesis Presentation
4.6. The Broad Scope of the Thesis
5. The Export Guide
5.1. Export Guide Presentation
5.2. Export Readiness
5.3. Trade Condition
5.4. Foreign Market Analysis
6. Questionnaire
6.1. Questionnaire Presentation
6.2. Export Readiness
6.3. Trade Condition
6.4. Foreign Market Analysis
7. Research Results
7.1. Export Readiness
7.2. Trade Condition
7.3. Foreign Market Analysis
8. Discussion
8.1. Export Readiness
8.2. Trade Condition
8.3. Foreign Market Analysis
9. Conclusions
9.1. Export Readiness
9.2. Trade Condition
9.3. Foreign Market Analysis
9.4. The Next Step
10. Supplements
10.1. Site Map
10.2. Glossary
10.3. The Complete Interview
10.4 Acknowledgements
10.5 Sources
4.3. Information Gathering (Page 2)
4.3.4 Company Research
Information about Sunfoods was gathered through Sunfoods' official homepage, from company brochures and through interviews with the company. All the information regarding Sunfoods comes from the company itself and the source can thus be claimed to be biased. However considering that the thesis primary is written for Sunfoods it might be considered less likely that the company would provide information, which is not accurate, as this would give them a less accurate export research results. Moreover, the management of Sunfoods may be considered to have great insight in firm specific aspects and they can thus be seen as the ultimate sources for company specific information.
Initially, contact between the researcher and Sunfoods was established by e-mail. The e-mail correspondence soon lead to a meeting in Kyoto where an interview was conducted. Before the interview, the research project was described in detail and the correspondent was given the opportunity to ask questions. The interview was conducted in Japanese and a tape recorder was utilized. The interview is based on the questionnaire�s first section, and two written copies, one in English and in Japanese, were presented to the correspondent at the time of the interview. To clarify any possible misunderstandings the interview questions and answers were discussed and explained thoroughly. The questionnaire was used as an interview guide to make sure that key topics were explored but the interview resembled a conversation rather than a formal question-and-answer exchange. Moreover, comments regarding the questions and the related areas were encouraged. It is asserted that in-depth interviews can be seen as flexible and dynamic conversations (Taylor & Bogdan 1998, Page 88). It is thereby possible to claim that the interview with Sunfoods was an in-depth interview with a qualitative approach. Immediately after the interview the tape recordings where transcribed and translated by the interviewer with the support of native Japanese speakers.
4.3.5 Language and Cultural Barriers
All communication between the researcher and the management at Sunfoods was conducted in Japanese. Naturally, as the researcher is not a native Japanese speaker this may have lead to some language misunderstandings. However, the communication between the parties was characterized by openness and friendliness and thus possible misunderstandings could easily be clarified. The room for misunderstandings can thereby be considered to be limited.
Studies show that there are great cultural differences between Sweden and Japan (http://geert-hofstede.international-business-center.com/ 2003-05-29). However, the researcher has spent a substantial amount of time completely immersed in the Japanese culture. Further, the research co-operation was characterized by mutual respect for the different cultures and thus, one can claim that it was possible to bridge over the cultural differences to a large extent.
