Kicked out and let down: breakdown-driven organizational research
Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management
ISSN: 1746-5648
Article publication date: 14 March 2016
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a model and some practical considerations for breakdown-driven organizational research.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on a two-case narrative from two studies of innovation in public welfare organizations. Inspired by Dewey’s pragmatic philosophy, the paper abductively builds a model for reflective practice when research plans break down.
Findings
A breakdown-driven approach to organizational research can open up to new insights about both the empirical field and organizational research methodology. In the present paper, breakdowns serve as pivotal points for reflective practice that not only offer new perspectives on innovation, but also the paper makes use of innovation theory to inform research methodology.
Originality/value
This paper advocates more narrative self-reflecting research that reveals processes of confusion and uncertainty. These narratives are worth sharing as research in its own right as they hold the power to intensify the researcher’s perceptual and reflective skills.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank all those people in the public organizations they researched, who provided and denied the access. Experiencing the shock of rejection, the authors feel, has made them into more sensitive and more capable researchers. The authors also wish to thank the proof-reader, Steven Sampson, for reminding them that genuine innovation is not only due to a change in relationships between people but also leads to new relations between people (including relations between the researcher and the empirical field). The authors are also indebted to Steven for his apt distillation of the long-term goal: “to innovate the innovation concept!”
Citation
Wegener, C. and Aakjær, M.K. (2016), "Kicked out and let down: breakdown-driven organizational research", Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 67-83. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-10-2014-1251
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited