Configurations of effectuation, causation, and bricolage: implications for firm growth paths

Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.

For graduate courses in Marketing Research, Research Design and Data Analysis. For the non-statistician, this applications-oriented introduction to multivariate analysis reduces the amount of statistical notation and terminology used while focusing on the fundamental concepts that affect the use of specific techniques.