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Archives of Business Research – Vol. 11, No. 4

Publication Date: April 25, 2023

DOI:10.14738/abr.114.14412.

ElAlam, Y., & Belkasseh, M. (2023). The Deterministic Positivist Epistemological Approach: An Investigation of the Strategies Used

by Banking Executives to Improve Employee Retention. Archives of Business Research, 11(4). 87-102.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

The Deterministic Positivist Epistemological Approach: An

Investigation of the Strategies Used by Banking Executives to

Improve Employee Retention

Younes El Alam

Hassan First University of Settat, ENCG, LARFAGO Laboratory,

Kingdom of Morocco

Mohammed Belkasseh

Hassan First University of Settat, ENCG, LARFAGO Laboratory,

Kingdom of Morocco

ABSTRACT

Theory-practice gap speculations are not the only focus of design research.

Significant questions about the role of the character of research are also raised by

research design. Despite the limitations of this work, it is nonetheless helpful to

have a high-level understanding of the key characteristics shared by the three

epistemological approaches: the subjectivist, constructivist, and objectivist schools

of thought. Considering the existing literature in the topic, these primary

epistemological stances that have influenced theories of research design are

discussed and analyzed. The purpose of this paper is not to provide a definitive

answer based on statistical analysis, but rather to delve into the nuances of the topic

at hand. At the end of the paper, we discuss and argue why and how we chose a

deterministic positivist epistemological approach to investigate the strategies used

by banking executives to improve employee retention: First, we will illustrate that

the topic under study does not fit within the constructivist interpretative

framework. Then, we will develop key ideas from the research that will form the

backbone of the positivist model. We conclude by outlining our plan for an

empiricist verification technique and defending its inception from a positivist

perspective.

Keywords: Epistemology, Subjectivist, Constructivist, Objectivist, Employee Retention,

HR Management.

INTRODUCTION

For Rorty (1979), a European who was born in the 17th century, epistemology is the field that

allows for the evaluation of all others. According to the author, this expresses a search for

immovable "foundations," "frames," "things," and "representations" that can't be disproved.

This paper, as part of the subject of Management Sciences, must provide out a sound rationale

if it is to succeed. As such, the epistemological stance we aim to create in this paper will

determine the approach taken to advancing human knowledge. More so, the reasons why the

author of this investigation adopted a deterministic positivist epistemological posture to

investigate the strategies used by banking executives to improve employee retention.

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Archives of Business Research (ABR) Vol. 11, Issue 4, April-2023

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EPISTEMOLOGICAL POSTURE

Research in the subject of management sciences has two primary goals: to further the

advancement and enrichment of scientific knowledge in the field, and to benefit companies and

the people who work within them (the managers). Its alleged practical application aids

practitioners (especially business leaders), which Whitley (1984) argues is significantly more

important in the field of business than in any other social science.

Furthermore, as shown by the fact that managers conduct systematic research within their own

firms, Mintzberg (1973) and Schon (1983) contributions to management science are of direct

interest to managers. Phillips and Pugh (1994) assert that the "what" and "why" inquiries are

addressed by the new information gained in this way. The "what" questions are those that the

client (organization) is looking to have answered through study or counsel, typically in the form

of some sort of recommendation. However, "why" questions are more academically motivated

and require an answer.

To generate or improve information and determine its scientific status, one might take several

different stances. Belief in a religious system, for instance, entails believing claims because of

the credibility of the theological authority that formulated them (Locke,1960). Man is left at

the mercy of the elements in Aristotelian ideology, despite the existence of a science that, by

uncovering physical regularities, may give humans meaningful influence over the natural world

(Bacon, 1620). According to Comte (1853), there are three levels of knowledge development:

the theological (or hypothetical), the metaphysical (or abstract), and the scientific (or positive).

In keeping with the adopted scientific approach, any speculation that goes beyond the scope of

direct observation and a dispassionate description will be dismissed.

It is true that management sciences encompass a wide range of theoretical perspectives and

research methodologies, and this variety makes it impossible to reduce the field to a set of

limiting paradigms and ways of thinking (Pfeffer, 1995). Management research, however, often

presents a scientific and objective vocation with a practical scope, and as a result, tends to

frequently take the form of positivist thought with respect to a given set of qualities. The former

indicates the tone and perspective of the argumentation they are exposed to. Hence, positivism

has been shown to be the preeminent research paradigm when studying organizations (Hatch,

1997). Its preeminence is frequently challenged by critical and interpretive scientific methods.

Thus, Ghoshal (2005) thinks the landscape of management science research is being challenged

by the emergence of alternatives to positivism that defy its constraints.

Notwithstanding the limitations of this effort, it is useful to have a broad awareness of the major

common attributes of the three epistemological perspectives:

Subjectivist epistemologists maintain that objects have no bearing on the process by which

meaning is generated. This means there is no objective reality concealed beneath appearances.

According to the constructionist worldview, one of constructivism's central ideas is that there

is no objective, universal truth. Instead, we manufacture truth and meaning through our

thoughts' interactions with the world. Different people from different ages or cultures may

view the same event through different lenses.

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ElAlam, Y., & Belkasseh, M. (2023). The Deterministic Positivist Epistemological Approach: An Investigation of the Strategies Used by Banking

Executives to Improve Employee Retention. Archives of Business Research, 11(4). 87-102.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.114.14412.

According to the premises of objectivist epistemology, it is possible to discover the "objective

truth," which asserts that a meaningful world exists independently of consciousness and

experience, that entities possess intrinsic meaning as objects, and that we may. Following the

appropriate processes will reveal this "objective fact."

The differences between these epistemologies are important for two reasons: first, they reveal

the limits of truth claims regarding objectivity, validity, and generalizability; and second, they

link theory and practice in the realm of research. On a second point, Crotty's (1998) paradigm

highlights the value of maintaining epistemic coherence. Separating scientifically proved facts

from the subjective interpretations that humans use in everyday life is essential for an objective

investigation. A constructionist methodology must treat scientific and non-scientific meanings

equally because all meanings are constructs and none are objective or generalizable. Increased

subjectivism results in less reliable and universally applicable claims of truth (Seale 1999). If

they want to be epistemologically aware, researchers need to keep in mind their own

assumptions throughout the entire research process. These presumptions concern the

foundations of human understanding, the context in which the researchers function, and the

character of the findings they produce. It is likely that the attempt to elevate the designed item

to the status of research and to emphasize the practice-based nature of design as the distinctive

feature of the discipline has occurred because of an inadequate understanding of the nature of

research, a tradition of professional practice.

In what follows, I will outline the arguments that led me to adopt a positivist epistemological

stance in the development of an investigation that looked for a causal link between the

employee retention strategies used by bank manages and the decrease of the employee

turnover leading to better financial performance. To start, we'll demonstrate the

incompatibility of the studied topic with the constructivist interpretive framework in text

"Incompatibility with constructivist." Next, in text "The deterministic positivist

approach," we'll be able to flesh out some essential points from the researched topic that will

serve as a basis for the positivist approach that we'll be modeling later. Lastly, in section "An

empiricist stance," we shall describe our idea for an empiricist verification strategy. Using a

positivist stance, we'll attempt to defend its inception.

INCOMPATIBILITY WITH CONSTRUCTIVISM

According to Popper (1976), justifications for theories are always false. Our choice for a theory,

though, can be "justified" on occasion. This theory is more robust than its "rivals" in the current

state of critical debate. It's related to Popper’s belief that a scientist's goal should be to arrive

at the most accurate approximations possible of the truth. Not only that, but scientists may be

biased supporters of their own choice of hypotheses rather than objective truth-seekers

(Popper, 1962).

THE SUBJECTIVE CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE

This study's methodology is fundamentally at odds with the constructivist paradigm. According

to Gilbert (1993), epistemological strategy involves the development of ideas insofar as

theories are "built" through experience and observation. This emphasizes the great latitude

provided to the researcher, whose knowledge of and subjective take on the world's observed

facts shape his own theoretical notion. Since we built our methodology on top of an already

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Archives of Business Research (ABR) Vol. 11, Issue 4, April-2023

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

established theory —The employee retention strategies used by bank managers— this is

incongruent with our approach.

To illustrate their point, Latour, and Woolgar (1989) show that the "creation" of scientific facts

is a process that generates "texts" whose fate is contingent on later interpretation. This way of

understanding the universe promotes the egocentric view that only the researcher has the

knowledge to uncover the truth (Knights, 1992). As described by Taylor (1993), the way it does

this is by sensing its surroundings, collecting data in the form of "bits," and then transforming

those "bits" into a "picture" of the world. The author, further, elaborates by saying that the

researcher uses this mental picture to guide his or her actions in a strategic planning process.

REJECTION OF SITUATIONAL DETERMINANTS

Constructivists argue that researchers' theoretical orientations shape not only their everyday

demeanor but also the questions they ask. As a result, constructivism has its own method of

improving realism, one that emphasizes the significance of context in the development of

theory (Godfrey & Hill, 1995). This is in absolute contrast to the objective method of idea

description, concept integration, and relationship analysis. Taking a constructivist stance

means that one always goes into research with some sort of theory (or pseudo-theory) in mind

as to how a problem works and what one might do to solve it (Fosnot, 1996). When it comes to

the constructivist paradigm, the interpretative basis is so crucial that Quine (1969) argues that

the field of epistemology should stop investigating fundamental philosophical questions and

start acting like a scientific subfield of psychology that studies how people think.

A constructivist method, in contrast to the introspection, finds no such thing to be the case. It

does not require scientists to interpret the phenomenon they study as a manifestation of

entities or processes that exist independently of human perception. Yet, it is the post hoc

scientists who constitute and "create" theoretical entities and practices (Nelson, 1994); The

post hoc approach dismisses the notion that one event's arrival after another would imply that

the former caused the latter.

Hence, the constructivist research ethos denotes a particular application and extremely precise

idea of the test of theory against observation, as hinted at by the ensuing empirical verification

component (Hindess, 1977). The author elaborates by pointing out that comparing the theory

to the complex claims of observation is the same as making a direct comparison to reality. If

they don't line up, the idea is flawed and can be dismissed. Constructivist inductive logic allows

for such a prospect.

MANAGERS MAKE THEIR OWN SUBJECTIVE DECISIONS INSIDE AN ORGANIZATION

This study seeks to investigate how the employee retention strategies used by bank manages

affected the employee turnover leading to better financial performance to provide a scholarly

and practical contribution to the broad discipline of management. This is both a theoretical and

practical service to managers, as it provides background on the rigor, verifiability, and general

applicability of the earliest research in the field. The purpose of this communication is meant

to serve as an educational resource for corporate decision-makers about the potential benefits

of implementing a successful employee retention management strategy for their company. The

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ElAlam, Y., & Belkasseh, M. (2023). The Deterministic Positivist Epistemological Approach: An Investigation of the Strategies Used by Banking

Executives to Improve Employee Retention. Archives of Business Research, 11(4). 87-102.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.114.14412.

literature review also recommends putting employee retention management strategy into

perspective with the standardization and compliance demands of modern business.

This line of thinking has several inconsistencies with the constructivist view mentioned earlier.

The latter claims that the focus of the highlighted interpretive study is on interpretation rather

than objective meaning. Hence, it attempts to decipher the significance a given scenario has for

the organization's members (Schwandt, 1994). Considering this, managers look for patterns in

organizational events and phenomena to identify and evaluate potential intervention sites, as

advocated for by Mintzberg (1973) and Schon (1983).

According to Whittington (1989), managers can direct their organizations however they see fit,

making them morally accountable for their decisions without having to appeal to contextual

factors. This approach as asserted by Silverman (1970), Clegg and Dunkerley (1980), and

Benson (1977), adheres to the philosophical tenet that underpins the researcher’s respective

works. The latter embody theoretical perspectives that emphasize the persistence of conflict

and power imbalances between social classes or groups, as well as the importance of the

"decision" made taking into consideration an individual's perceptions.

THE DETERMINISTIC POSITIVIST APPROACH

The author in this paper has, by definition, adopted a scientific, positivist, and determinist

outlook to analyze the impact of the implementation of successful employee retention

management strategy on the decrease of the organization turnover leading to better financial

performance. According to Kolakowski (1968)’ collection of restrictions on human knowledge,

the term "knowledge" (or "science") is reserved for those activities that can be observed in the

development of modern science. Indeed, the positivist stance is dogmatic in that it seeks to

apply and confirm the laws while ignoring the Popper refutations (1959,1967,1976). However,

it is precisely this foundation that guarantees the complete isolation of any metaphysical,

superstitious, or untestable religious belief from a piece of genuine scientific study; throughout

history, positivism has rejected metaphysical speculation of any kind, and therefore rejects all

thinking that can neither rely on empirical evidence for its findings nor construct its judgments

in a way that makes them immune to challenges from evidence (Kolakowski, 1968).

Popper's criticism (1959, 1967, 1976) that positivists tend to protect metaphysical or

superstitious ideas against the possibility that they could become testable and, so, scientific,

does not undermine the positivist position's overall strength. The latter promotes a distinct

idea for an impartial and inquisitive comprehension of the universe in the service of knowledge

creation. An apprehension of the ontological split between humans and the reality that they

are Laing beings gives rise to this perspective. People, the author argues, are distinct from

objects because they "experience" rather than "behave" (objectively) in the world. The purpose

of this argument is not to blur the lines between interpretation and observation or to defend

the phenomenological method by appealing to any hypothetical subject-object

interdependence. Instead, it is consistent with Bhaskar (1975)'s belief systems concerning the

world's ontological structure and the epistemological examination of the motivations for later

knowledge.