12-1993 | Nirmalya KUMAR, Louis W. STERN, James C. ANDERSON
This article examines the use of key informants in interorganizational research, focusing on two main issues: the selection of informants and the resolution of perceptual agreement problems. The authors argue that while multiple informants can enhance the reliability and validity of reports, interorganizational research often relies on single informants due to practical challenges. They propose a hybrid consensus-averaging method to address these issues, which involves collecting consensual judgments only when there is substantial disagreement between knowledgeable informants, and resolving minor differences through averaging reports. The study is conducted using a major vehicle rental company and its network of dealers as a case study, assessing seven performance facets. The results show that the proposed hybrid approach significantly differs from both single-informant and averaging approaches, and that the degree of perceptual agreement is not related to informants' self-assessments of their knowledge. The authors conclude by offering suggestions for assessing informant competency and using multiple informant reports in interorganizational research.This article examines the use of key informants in interorganizational research, focusing on two main issues: the selection of informants and the resolution of perceptual agreement problems. The authors argue that while multiple informants can enhance the reliability and validity of reports, interorganizational research often relies on single informants due to practical challenges. They propose a hybrid consensus-averaging method to address these issues, which involves collecting consensual judgments only when there is substantial disagreement between knowledgeable informants, and resolving minor differences through averaging reports. The study is conducted using a major vehicle rental company and its network of dealers as a case study, assessing seven performance facets. The results show that the proposed hybrid approach significantly differs from both single-informant and averaging approaches, and that the degree of perceptual agreement is not related to informants' self-assessments of their knowledge. The authors conclude by offering suggestions for assessing informant competency and using multiple informant reports in interorganizational research.