Ontology

Ontology and epistemology are two different ways of viewing the research
philosophy. Ontology in business research can be defined as “the science or study
of being”[1] and it deals with the nature of reality. Ontology is a system of belief
that reflects an interpretation of an individual about what constitutes a fact.
In other words, ontology is associated with a central question of whether social
entities need to be perceived as objective or subjective. Accordingly, objectivism
(or positivism) and subjectivism can be specified as two important aspects of
ontology.
Objectivism “portrays the position that social entities exist in reality external to
social actors concerned with their existence”[2]. Alternatively, objectivism “is an
ontological position that asserts that social phenomena and their meanings have
an existence that is independent of social actors”[3].
Subjectivism (also known as constructionism or interpretivism) on the contrary,
perceives that social phenomena is created from perceptions and consequent
actions of those social actors concerned with their existence. Formally,
constructionism can be defined as “ontological position which asserts that social
phenomena and their meanings are continually being accomplished by social
actors”.[4]
The table below illustrates the ontology of four major research philosophies
related to business studies:

Research
philosophy Ontology: the researcher’s view of the nature of reality or being

Pragmatism External, multiple, view chosen to best enable answering of research question

Positivism External, objective and independent of social actors

Is objective. Exists independently of human thoughts and beliefs or knowledge of their

Realism existence (realist), but is interpreted through social conditioning (critical realist)

Interpretivism Socially constructed, subjective, may change, multiple

Ontology of research philosophies
Identification of ontology at the start of the research process is critically
important as it determines the choice of the research design. The figure below
illustrates the consequent impact of ontology on the choice of research methods via
epistemology, research approach, research strategy and methods of data
collection and data analysis.
 Impact of research philosophy on the choice of research method

Ontology in business studies

Fortunately, you don’t have to discuss ontology in great depth when writing a
dissertation in business studies. Several paragraphs to one page will suffice for a
dissertation on Bachelor’s or Master’s level, whereas you can devote about two
pages to ontology on a research at a PhD level.
You can address ontology part of methodology chapter of your dissertation in the
following manner:
Firstly, you can provide a formal definition of ontology, followed by explanation
of ontology in simple terms. See example at the beginning of this page.
Secondly, you have to specify whether you are adopting objectivism or
constructivism view. This should be followed by explanation of rationale for your
choice.
Thirdly, you have to discuss implications of your ontological choice on the choice
of epistemology, research approach, and research strategy and data collection
method.