Consequently, the aim of this research was to explore the complexity of trying to work within a framework of sustainability, with a given number of stakeholders (in this case, a UK organisation, its customers (volunteers, primarily British) and the local community (Indonesian) where the project operates) that may hold different values and the extent to which the values of the stakeholders affected interaction and behaviour and therefore the success of achieving sustainability.

This study was exploratory in nature and consequently required a qualitative approach (Creswell, 1994; Leedy & Ormond, 2005). The qualitative methods were designed in order to understand the interactions and relationships between the organisation, the volunteers and the community with the purpose of enabling the values to be captured, which could then be applied to the framework of sustainability. A case study approach was used for the organisation as it enabled an in-depth investigation into a specific set of circumstances in a particular context (Yin, 2003a; 2003b). The investigation of phenomena within a case is supported by Yin (2003b) who argues that case studies are particularly appropriate where the observer has access to a novel, previously unexplained phenomenon.