9.3 The Research Implications
137
order to: (1) clarify misunderstandings, (2) reduce unrealistic expectations, (3) reduce
frustrations for either party and (4) optimise social investment outcomes.
9.4 Research Limitations and Future Research
This research predominantly focussed on listening to the people who directly work
with O&G social investment. The book includes a range of voices, including social
investment experts and some host country government representatives. However, the
perspectives of three government experts cannot provide an in-depth understanding
of how government experts understand and experience O&G social investment
programmes. Additionally, host communities and NGOs’ views and understandings
of social investment, although relevant, lay beyond the scope of this research project.
Further research is needed that more deeply investigates communities’, NGOs’ and
governments’ discursive understandings and practices of social investment. Research
could explore whether the four discourses of social investment, adopted by the social
investment experts in this study, are echoed by other social investment stakeholders.
In this research, it was difficult to recruit participants, as people who worked in the
O&G industry were suspicious of the research. Future, larger scale research would be
beneficial that explores issues such as the gender imbalance in particular countries’
O&G social investment personnel, and the links between gender, location and how
O&G social investment is constructed and enacted.
Because of budget and time constraints, recruitment and interviews were carried
out through digital media such as email, LinkedIn, Skype and telephone calls. If I
had had the financial resources and a longer time frame to carry out this research,
I could have personally visited companies and government experts, and spoken to
participants face to face. A more personal approach might have increased the number
of research participants, made interviewees feel more comfortable while being interviewed, and provided me with further information about participants’ perspectives,
through attention to their body language. Future research with participants onsite
could provide deeper insights into discourses of social investment.
Another limitation of my research was my use of one-off interviews as a basis
for exploring participants’ ideas. Multiple interviews with the same participants may
have provided me with more in-depth understandings of how participants’ discursive understandings shift over time. Future research could explore social investment
experts’ understandings and practices longitudinally to provide a richer analysis of
participants’ complex understandings of social investment (Phillimore & Goodson,
2004).
Future research could include attention to participants’ actual social investment
practices. This research focussed on participants’ narratives, but the inclusion of
observational data may provide additional insights into the complexity of envisaging
and enacting social investment in O&G company settings.
Two guideline documents were selected for analysis based on those most
frequently mentioned by participants. Future research could explore how other social
137
order to: (1) clarify misunderstandings, (2) reduce unrealistic expectations, (3) reduce
frustrations for either party and (4) optimise social investment outcomes.
9.4 Research Limitations and Future Research
This research predominantly focussed on listening to the people who directly work
with O&G social investment. The book includes a range of voices, including social
investment experts and some host country government representatives. However, the
perspectives of three government experts cannot provide an in-depth understanding
of how government experts understand and experience O&G social investment
programmes. Additionally, host communities and NGOs’ views and understandings
of social investment, although relevant, lay beyond the scope of this research project.
Further research is needed that more deeply investigates communities’, NGOs’ and
governments’ discursive understandings and practices of social investment. Research
could explore whether the four discourses of social investment, adopted by the social
investment experts in this study, are echoed by other social investment stakeholders.
In this research, it was difficult to recruit participants, as people who worked in the
O&G industry were suspicious of the research. Future, larger scale research would be
beneficial that explores issues such as the gender imbalance in particular countries’
O&G social investment personnel, and the links between gender, location and how
O&G social investment is constructed and enacted.
Because of budget and time constraints, recruitment and interviews were carried
out through digital media such as email, LinkedIn, Skype and telephone calls. If I
had had the financial resources and a longer time frame to carry out this research,
I could have personally visited companies and government experts, and spoken to
participants face to face. A more personal approach might have increased the number
of research participants, made interviewees feel more comfortable while being interviewed, and provided me with further information about participants’ perspectives,
through attention to their body language. Future research with participants onsite
could provide deeper insights into discourses of social investment.
Another limitation of my research was my use of one-off interviews as a basis
for exploring participants’ ideas. Multiple interviews with the same participants may
have provided me with more in-depth understandings of how participants’ discursive understandings shift over time. Future research could explore social investment
experts’ understandings and practices longitudinally to provide a richer analysis of
participants’ complex understandings of social investment (Phillimore & Goodson,
2004).
Future research could include attention to participants’ actual social investment
practices. This research focussed on participants’ narratives, but the inclusion of
observational data may provide additional insights into the complexity of envisaging
and enacting social investment in O&G company settings.
Two guideline documents were selected for analysis based on those most
frequently mentioned by participants. Future research could explore how other social