The objective of course in transferability is not to generalize, but to determine if indeed, the same results will hold true for other groups that share the same characteristics from which the results of the study came from (e.g., cultural sub-groups within the American Indian culture) (Babbie, 2003:211). Lastly, Trustworthiness is the establishment of the researcher's credibility and trust between him/her and the study's informants / interviewees / discussants. Trust leads to rapport, which will make the informant at ease, disclose more, and impart useful insights about the topic/phenomenon under study.
Thus, when applied to the issue of utilizing social media to increase the competitiveness of small businesses, these concepts are especially valuable. Trust and integrity are important for small businesses because they rely on their small group of loyal and satisfied clients/customers to spread the "good word" about their products...
Especially in using the social media as a vehicle for marketing a company's product and service, word-of-mouth online spreads very quickly, and could make or break a company's reputation and profitability in hours, if not minutes. Given specific insights about a particular target group or niche, small companies must also be wary of the transferability of information and insights that they have about their target groups. It could be that the information is not applicable other sub-groups within the target group, which could jeopardize the marketing strategy of the company. Taking these concepts into consideration, it goes without saying that for small businesses using the online platform, companies must at least be armed with market intelligence data gleaned from qualitative research and its principles.
Reference:
Babbie, E. (2003). The Practice of Social Research. NY: Wadsworth Publishing.
