Emerald | Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal

Informal communication of co-workers: a thematic analysis of messages

Martha J. Fay — 2011-11-15 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose – Although informal communication at work has been shown to serve important functions of sociality, little is known about the messages that comprise routine, everyday interaction. The purpose of this paper is to examine two different informal interactions between 100 remote employees and their central office peers to determine the kinds of messages used in informal interaction using thematic analysis. Design/methodology/approach – Teleworkers recalled informal interactions with central office peers; interactions were coded using constructivist methodology, then collapsed into dominant themes using a constant comparison approach. Patterns in responses were then related to a literature-based (constructivist) analysis of how informal communication functions. Findings – Five key themes were identified: personal disclosure, sociality, support giving and getting, commiserating/complaining, and business updates and exchanges. These informal workplace interactions also reflected underlying dimensions of perceived organizational membership: need fulfillment, mattering, and belonging, and suggest ways the framework could be strengthened. Research limitations/implications – Themes from reported interactions provide message-level evidence that informal communication serves both instrumental and constitutive functions. Including interactions reported by co-located employees would have allowed for a comparison. Practical implications – Results have important implications for how informal communication functions between peers. Managers can use the results to facilitate communication opportunities for remote and co-located employees. Originality/value – Message-level analysis of informal communication between peers has not been considered as important as hierarchical communication within businesses and organizations. Reported interactions illuminate how informal communication functions, and suggest a link between informal interaction and important individual- and organizational-level outcomes, adding to existing knowledge about the understudied population of permanent, high-intensity teleworkers.

From “being there” to “being […] where?”: relocating ethnography

Katrina Pritchard — 2011-11-15 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to expand recent discussions of research practice in organizational ethnography by engaging in a reflexive examination of the ethnographer's situated identity work across different research spaces: academic, personal and the research site itself. Design/methodology/approach – Examines concerns with the traditional notion of “being there” as it applies to ethnography in contemporary organization studies and, through a confessional account exploring the author's own experiences as a PhD student conducting ethnography, considers “being […] where?” using the analytic framework of situated identity work. Findings – Identifies both opportunities and challenges for organizational ethnographers facing the question of “being […] where?” through highlighting the situated nature of researchers’ identity work in, across and between different (material and virtual) research spaces. Practical implications – The paper provides researchers with prompts to examine their own situated identity work, which may prove particularly useful for novice researchers and their supervisors, while also identifying the potential for incorporating these ideas within organizational ethnography more broadly. Originality/value – The paper offers situated identity work as a means to provide renewed analytic vigour to the confessional genre whilst highlighting new opportunities for reflexive and critical ethnographic research practice.

Narrative as an organizing process: identity and story in a new nonprofit

Andrew F. Herrmann — 2011-11-15 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore narratives in a new nonprofit arts center. It includes the macro-, meso-, and personal narratives that keep the center organized in the midst of the chaotic everyday activities. It advocates the explanatory force of narrative as an alternative to organizational life cycle theory for understanding organizational startups. Design/methodology/approach – This narrative ethnography involved participant observation, full participation, and narrative interviews over a three-year period. Using grounded theory, narratives were examined to discover how they engendered and maintained order. Findings – This paper contributes to the understanding narratives as a constitutional organizing and sensemaking process, including the narratives of “do it yourself,” and economic production, family and home, and personal narratives that constitute community, community boundaries, and identity, adding to our knowledge of organizing. Research limitations/implications – The research examined only one local nonprofit arts center, therefore the findings are specific to this site and the same types of narratives may not necessarily be found in other nonprofits. Originality/value – This paper examines a nonprofit during start-up. It validates support for the examination of organizations through narrative ethnography and narrative interviewing. It purports that narratives constitute social identity, rather than being the evidence of social identity.

The telephone medium and semi-structured interviews: a complementary fit

Moira Cachia, Lynne Millward — 2011-11-15 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose – The telephone has been widely used to conduct quantitative research in diverse fields of study, generally using survey methodology. However, comparatively very few qualitative studies opt for this means of data collection. The purpose of this paper is to argue in favour of a medium that has generally been second-rated in qualitative research. It aims at establishing telephone interviews as an equally viable option to other established methods of qualitative data collection. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is informed by the authors’ experience of using this method, as well as the limited number of previous research articles presented on the topic. It discusses its specific strengths and limitations, drawing on a conducted longitudinal study to illustrate key points. Its application to particular qualitative analysis methods, in view of the acknowledged requirements for each of these approaches, is also presented. Findings – Telephone conversations naturally follow an agenda-driven format that is initiated by the caller, similar to semi-structured interviews. The authors propose that the telephone medium and interview modality are complementary. Also, the interview transcripts provide rich textual data that can subsequently be analysed using a range of qualitative data analysis methods. Originality/value – Focus is placed on the methodological strengths of using telephone interviews in qualitative research, rather than convenience factors which have been the most featured element in previous literature. The paper aims at informing researchers who want to consider using the telephone medium for qualitative data collection and analysis.

Special issue on shadowing research in organisations

2011-11-15 00:00:00.0