Doing critical management research interviews after reading Derrida

Abstract

Purpose

The paper invites us to reconsider the processes at work in the conduct of qualitative interviews, especially in the context of management studies; it emphasises, in particular, the paradoxes that arise from the inescapable interdependency between interviewer and interviewee.

Design/methodology/approach

The author reflects upon his own experiences of conducting interviews with managers whilst studying for a PhD, and suggests alternative ways of thinking about what goes on during such exchanges.

Findings

Interview techniques are not necessarily the neutral tools they might seem to be.

Originality/value

The deconstructive insights about interview processes provide a way of thinking about qualitative interview research that might be more consistent with the insights of certain “critical” management studies.

Citation

Learmonth, M. (2006), "Doing critical management research interviews after reading Derrida", Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 83-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465640610686352