Developing a Mixed-Methods Research Framework for Studying Sino-Nigerian Business Relationships: Methodological Contributions

Research on Sino-Nigerian business relationships faces distinctive methodological challenges including language barriers to primary data access, political sensitivity of topics, culturally variable response styles, and the empirical complexity of measuring bilateral relationship quality. Existing studies have employed diverse methodologies without systematic methodological reflection. This study makes an original methodological contribution by developing a comprehensive Mixed-Methods Research Framework specifically designed for Sino-Nigerian business relationship research. The methodological framework is developed through a three-stage process: systematic review of the methodological approaches in 85 published empirical studies on Sino-Nigerian and Sino-African business relationships, published from 2010 to 2023; expert methodological consultation with 20 Nigerian and Chinese researchers who have conducted primary research in this domain; and empirical validation by applying the proposed framework to an original study of Sino-Nigerian supply chain relationships in the South West zone. The Mixed-Methods Framework integrates quantitative survey design with survey instruments validated through bilingual cognitive interviewing, qualitative interview protocols adapted for Chinese cultural communication norms, ethnographic observation procedures for business relationship contexts, documentary analysis of commercial contracts and business registration data, and network analysis of Sino-Nigerian business relationship structures. Validation application demonstrates the framework's capacity to generate triangulated evidence that addresses the known weaknesses of single-method approaches in this domain. The methodological contribution enables more rigorous, culturally sensitive, and empirically robust research on Sino-Nigerian business relationships across all domains.

Keywords: mixed-methods framework, Sino-Nigerian business research, methodological contribution, research design, bilateral studies