The potential of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and its implications for mixed-method approaches in marketing and distribution research

Abstract

　This paper sheds light on the philosophical and methodological foundations of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), a relatively new approach to causal inference. It compares and contrasts the worldview and set-theoretic/Boolean algebraic background of QCA vis-à-vis the statistics-based mainstream method in social science research. Furthermore, this will highlight the assumptions that demarcate QCA from the mainstream statistical causal inference methods, such as multiple regression analysis (MRA). These are namely (1) conjunctural causation, (2) equifinality, (3) sufficiency and necessity, and (4) causal asymmetry. In a broader sense, the domain of marketing is one of the disciplines in which various usage of QCA prevails due partly to the complex nature of the phenomenon that researchers tackle. The latter half of the paper focuses on introducing the standard procedures of the research employing a variant of QCA. A summary of a theory-testing fsQCA study facilitates hands-on knowledge on the interpretation of solution terms via QCA and its presentations in various forms. At the end of the paper will be discussed the potential of QCA in distribution and marketing research. It will attempt to provide suggestions for appropriately selecting and matching research topics and methods.