Seeking Guidance on fsQCA Methodology for Mixed-Methods Study
Yasra Aslam
Respected Sir/Group members,
I hope you're doing well and staying healthy.
I am writing to ask for your expert guidance regarding a methodological concern raised in the review of my mixed-methods study. My research integrates quantitative and qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the role of the technological environment in organizational outcomes.
In the quantitative phase, I operationalized "Technological Environment" as a formative construct composed of three dimensions: skilled employees, technological infrastructure, and technology-based training, along with a mediator, a moderator, and two dependent variables.
In the fsQCA phase, I treated each of these three dimensions as separate conditions (along with the mediator and moderator as conditions) to examine how different configurations lead to the outcomes. A reviewer has questioned this approach, suggesting that variable operationalization must be consistent across both methods—meaning I should not disaggregate the construct in fsQCA if it were treated as unified in the quantitative part.
I would greatly appreciate your insight on the following:
Is this approach methodologically defensible in mixed-methods research?
If yes, how might I best justify it theoretically and methodologically?
Could you recommend any published studies or methodological articles that have successfully employed a similar approach, treating a construct as unified in regression/SEM but as separate dimensions in fsQCA?
Your guidance would be invaluable as I prepare my response to the reviewers and refine the methodology section of my paper.
Thank you very much for your time and support. I look forward to your thoughtful advice.
Reg:
Yasra Aslam
Research Scholar
HUST. P.R. China