Global Journal of Management and Business Research, A: Administration and Management, Volume 23 Issue 2

Figure 10: Steps in Grounded Theory Analysis (Source: Based on Bryman and Bell, 2018) When the data is collected, the coding process is used to categorise the data for comparison purposes (Carmichael and Cunningham, 2017). In order to undertake this process, thematic analysis is used, which involves identifying, analysing and studying themes within interview and other kinds of qualitative data, allowing the research to provide ‘rich detail’ on the data and interpret the aspects of the research topic that are An Assessment of the Last Mile Delivery Market in Saudi Arabia during and Post COVID-19 77 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXIII Issue II Version I Year 2023 ( ) A © 2023 Global Journals There is no commonly accepted sample size for qualitative studies (Saunders et al., 2019). For this research, the targeted sample size for this study is 13 interviews, however, data saturation was reached after reaching 9 interviews as the interviews started to have the almost the same answers. This is consistent with the recommendation when using qualitative research methods to use data saturation to determine the number of interviews to be conducted, meaning that data collection stops when further interviews no longer generate additional significant information (Aldiabat and Le Navenec, 2018; Saunders et al., 2019). The study includes about 15 hours of discussions and interviews with multiple key opinion leaders that includes upstream and downstream participants. After reaching to the potential candidates through either email, WhatsApp, or phone call, an agreement was reached regarding conducting the interview. This is followed up by sending an email to the potential participants with a brief introduction about the research, list of questions, and consent form. The interview was then done virtually through online platforms after getting the consents of the interviewees. Also, consent was requested to record the interview at the start of each interview. According to (Eisenhardt, 1989), recording the interview increases the accuracy of findings and facilitates both coding and the interpretation of quotes. IV. A nalysis, F inding & D iscussion a) Data Analysis In this study, the data obtained from interviews were analysed using a combination of Grounded Theory analysis and thematic analysis, based on Chapman et al.’s (2015) argument that “ thematic analysis in the context of Grounded Theory offers a systematic approach to the analysis of qualitative interview data .” By itself, thematic analysis “ is not wedded to any pre- existing theoretical framework, and therefore it can be used within different theoretical frameworks (although not all), and can be used to do different things within them ” (Braun and Clarke, 2006, p. 81). For this reason, it is completed within a Grounded Theory framework since this offers an explicit framework for analysis and theory generation (Chapman et al., 2015). This is also consistent with Heydarian (2016), who outline a process of thematic analysis directed by the Grounded Theory approach based on the position that Grounded Theory is particularly useful when the area of study is new and is also is helpful for identifying details of constructs, while thematic analysis provides a clear structure for the data analysis. First, the overall study was conducted within a Grounded Theory framework and thus this continues to the analysis. Further, qualitative research questions that seek discovery or exploration of a topic usually draw on Grounded Theory, supporting the appropriateness of the approach for use in this research (Creswell and Poth, 2018). As a data analysis method, it is one of the most widely used approach to analysing qualitative data (Bryman and Bell, 2018). It is particularly useful for using empirical data to analyse and derive theoretical propositions (Aldiabatand Le Navenec, 2018). The process of undertaking the Grounded Theory analysis is presented in Figure 10, showing that the process begins with and is guided by a research problem and research questions that identify the main points to consider when collecting the data (Bryman and Bell, 2018).