The specificities of interviewing in China
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to guide future researchers and practitioners into the process of interviewing in the Chinese context.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used is an empirical critical reflection.
Findings
The authors identified 11 major themes such as how to get an interview, antecedents of the interview, building rapport, complexity, language, interview settings, interview procedure, stages, probing and sensitive topics, selection of respondents and post-interview.
Research limitations/implications
The location of the interviews.
Practical implications
Guide foreigner researchers and managers on how to conduct interviews in China.
Social implications
The context matters, and only with a specific approach some can perform well and achieve the interview objectives. Doing so, the researcher or practitioner will not create situations that might be problematic for her/him and the interviewee. Based on the above, the authors’ research decreases potential social tensions that interview situations can create.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other researcher has studied the specificities of interviewing in China, which brings originality and value to the authors’ research.
Keywords
Citation
Torres de Oliveira, R. and Figueira, S. (2018), "The specificities of interviewing in China", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 118-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-11-2016-0117
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited