Business consultancy project

Research Instruments and Tools. Data Collection.

The research approach being undertaken for this business consultancy project is combined, as both qualitative (non-statistical) and quantitative (statistical) tools of obtaining the data, such as, questionnaires, structured and semi-structured interviews and observations were utilized (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2009).
Within the research process, multiple mixed research techniques have been used, as quantitative research is more useful for assessment of revenue and other metrics, while qualitative data was processed to evaluate the perception and attitude of customers and partners to a new service, including experience of other companies.
Considering the overall purpose of the consultancy project, which is to provide the stakeholders with sufficient information, so that they could decide whether to introduce mobile financial services in Azercell or not, large amounts of qualitative and quantitative data have been processed.

1. Qualitative Data Analysis

Qualitative research approach refers to a higher degree of subjective assessment of behavior, preferences, attitudes of interviewees, containing the insights of the researcher. Meanwhile, results are generated in non-quantitative form, which is not applicable for meticulous quantitative analysis (C.R. Kothari, Research Methodology. Methods and Techniques, 2004)

- Interviews

The use of interviews contributes to the collection of valid and reliable data relevant to the research question(s) and objectives (M. Saunders, P. Lewis, A. Thornhill, Research Methods for business students, 5^th edition, 2009, p. 318).
Within the research process semi-structured and non-standardized interviews have been conducted to obtain the data. The interview questions appropriate for the business research concept are characterized by the attached interview protocols - Appendix 1. The list of interviewees involves internal discussions with management of Azercell, representatives of the largest banks of Azerbaijan (Appendix 1) and online payment portals and other experts with profound business experience, such as CFO and other managing positions. Semi-structured interviews with the experts from the financial and telecommunication field, including banks, payment systems etc. have shed some light on the current situation on the market and demand for this particular product.
The choice of semi-structured interviews is based on the high degree of flexibility of both parties – interviewer and interviewee. This type of interviews provides the understanding of the most relevant and significant concepts from the interviewee’s point of view, including interpretations of the current situation (Blumberg, Cooper, & Schindler, 2011).
Meanwhile, in-depth interviews were arranged with the representatives of management of Azercell to get valuable information on the subject and assess the internal environment of possible implementation of MFS among the services provided by Azercell, involving foreseeing and making efforts to predict unexpected threats and obstacles as well. Meanwhile, semi-structured interviews (both personal and via telephone) based on questionnaires with open-ended questions have been conducted with the companies providing online payment services, such as Golden Pay, Azericard, Easy Pay etc. to explore and understand the needs and benefits of the experience of customers in terms of online payments (Appendix 1).

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