To get a detailed ‘descriptive theory’ (Holstein & Gubrium, 2005) of the collective mindset guiding processes of cultural synergy, an inductive analysis of the data was conducted following the grounded theory approach (Charmez, 2006; Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Transcripts were first read using an ‘open coding’ procedure (Strauss & Corbin, 1998): data were categorized into thematic codes without using categories imposed from outside.
Next, the thematic codes were organized in stable and dominating ‘collective themes’ as they appeared in the explanations, stories, and references within discussions. Collective themes were defined as postulates, stories, and attitudes approved and/or promoted by participants as they engaged in discussion. Identified collective themes were crosschecked with pictures and post-it notes so that a parallel between data from the discussions was drawn.