Qualitative to quantitative and back: Reflecting on mixed methods approach for examining sustainability and small business

Investigating transformative change that examines sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is a complex endeavour, involving business development and external environment dynamics, multiple stakeholders and changing relationships. Singular methods, however, are inadequate in capturing a complex phenomenon like sustainability and small business. Mixed methods research, the author shows, enables flexibility (in scope) and depth to identify, test and validate salient and non-salient themes, concepts and frameworks. The discussion revolves around the author’s mixed method journal, departing from a study undertaken in 2012 and followed up by a second study in 2016 and ex post reflections. Mixed methods research is beneficial due to the depth of understanding that it affords and the ability to tell a rich story with the data. Both, the richness and context of qualitative understanding, in conjunction with the precision and abstract power of quantitative measures, facilitates well-rounded discovery.