A Study of Barbershops in Russia: The Relationship between Micro and Macro Levels in a Qualitative Research

Abstract

The article exemplifies the transformation in the qualitative research design: how by formulating and clarifying a key research question (KRQ) the transition from an open-ended search strategy to a directive one was made. This methodological logic was utilized to understand the forty-fold increase in the number of barbershops in Russia which happened in 2013–2017 and led to the differentiation of premium standards. The results of our study indicate the differences in the network of compared barbershops in accordance with the functional and social-emotional criteria of premium. The diversification of premium standards is expressed primarily in the quality of basic barbershop services, in customer service patterns and in the human capital of the staff. The article presents only those narratives of the professional activity of barbers that can reasonably be attributed to typical. Decomposition of the key research question during re-reading and coding of interviews allowed us to discover the segmentation of barbershops according to the degree of their compliance with premium standards and to offer a credible interpretation of the explosive growth in the number of barbershops in Russia.