The Warren Buffett Project: A Qualitative Study on Warren Buffett

Engaged scholarship focuses on real-world problems. The purpose of my research is to understand why Warren Buffett and his investment principles are not taught systematically in institutions where people are being prepared as investment and finance professionals. The rationale for the study was to answer the research question: What major themes can be extracted from the Warren Buffett Archive? I used a qualitative research analytic method called thematic analysis used by Braun and Clarke (2006). The research includes 11 years of coded transcripts from Buffett speaking at his annual shareholders meetings. An interval of every two years was selected, which resulted in the years 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019. Based on the analysis of 11 years of transcripts, I found six critical findings focused on Buffett challenging the conventional wisdom of academic finance and eight critical findings focused on the concepts of financial literacy. Finally, I found five critical findings based on Warren Buffett facing insider trading claims. My contribution with this dissertation research is to insert Warren Buffett into the conversation. I took advantage of the Warren Buffett Archive and its unique data set, which became public in May 2018. He provides an understanding of investments, finance concepts, and markets that can improve academic finance and financial literacy though many of his lessons directly contradict what has been taught in business school. The Buffett project contributes toward the advancement of knowledge in the areas of finance and investments. Buffett’s knowledge is critical because it provides a useful perspective for those within the financial sector, including financial advisors and their clients as well as those in academia, including faculty members and business school graduates as well as students. All these stakeholders should make better informed financial decisions from the understanding of the critical findings presented in this research