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1 Introduction: Qualitative Research in Business and Management
Catherine Cassell
Ann L. Cunliffe
Gina Grandy
Welcome to The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Business and Management Research Methods. The Handbook aims to provide a state-of-the art overview of qualitative research methods in the business and management field. Our intention is to provide a comprehensive review of the history and traditions that underpin qualitative research within management and organisations; outline a number of contemporary methods and their relevance; and explore some of the challenges that may lie ahead for qualitative researchers. In doing so, we draw from a wide range of research traditions. While any handbook seeks to be comprehensive, it will inevitably offer a view of the field informed by a particular lens. In this case, that lens is the view of the three editors, all experienced qualitative scholars, and also the viewpoint of our contributors, who are all leading-edge, international qualitative researchers. A number of chapters are targeted at those who are relatively new to the field, while others are aimed at experienced qualitative researchers. Some chapters cover methods that are well established, whereas others highlight new and unfolding methods or areas of investigation. We encourage you to dip in and out of the Handbook, following up on any traditions, methods or issues that particularly capture your interest.
Our philosophy in putting together the Handbook is that we have sought to recognise and celebrate the diversity of qualitative business and management research methods. The three editors all come from different traditions and we may make quite different methodological and philosophical choices in relation to our own qualitative research practices. However, we are committed to encouraging rather than problematising such diversity and believe it is important, especially for new researchers, to be aware of the range of philosophical positions, epistemologies, methodologies and methods available. As John Van Maanen noted back in 1995, âFrom examples of novel practices can come individual and collective experiments and perhaps as a result we can loosen up some of the writer's cramps that seem so prevalent in our fieldâ (1995, p. 139). Loosening researcher's cramps by supporting diversity maintains the richness of our field and legitimates different ways of theorising, writing and enacting researcher roles. The authors in the Handbook are therefore researching management and/or organisations from within different disciplines (including strategy, organisational psychology, organisational communications, sociology, international business and education) using a wide range of traditions and methods. Inevitably, while acknowledging that the Handbook is wide in coverage, we also recognise that we will never be able to fully capture a developing and ever-changing domain.
This introductory chapter positions what follows in the Handbook by outlining some of the characteristics of the current state of qualitative business and management research methods and highlighting some of the debates and challenges in the field. We also introduce the different sections of the Handbook to offer the reader an overview of what follows. The chapters have been arranged across two thematic volumes; the first focussing on âHistory and Traditions', and the second covering âMethods and Challenges'. For ease of navigation, in this chapter we have included notes in parentheses wherever specific chapters or sections are mentioned, to indicate which companion volume (âHistoryâ or âMethods') the chapter appears in. We invite you to join with us on this journey through what is a thriving and exciting methodological domain.
Characterising qualitative research in the business and management field
Given the diversity outlined above, how can we characterise qualitative business, management and organisational research? The first comment we would make is that there is increasing interest in the uses and opportunities offered by research informed by qualitative methods. Qualitative research can now be found in many different areas within the âdisciplineâ of business, management and organisational research, including those traditionally seen as founded upon objectivity, âfacts', numbers and quantification. For example, we now see qualitative research in accounting (Boll, 2014; Lee & Humphrey, 2006); entrepreneurship (DĂaz GarcĂa & Welter, 2011); finance (Kaczynski et al., 2014; Salmona et al., 2015); human resource management (Townsend et al., 2016); international business (Doz, 2011; Moore, 2012); information systems (Hoefnagel et al., 2014); marketing (Bellenger et al., 2011; Rokka & Canniford, 2016); organisational behaviour (Cassell & Symon, 2004; O'Leary & Sandberg, 2016; Symon & Cassell, 2012); organisational communication (Brummans, 2014; Tracy et al., 2014); organisational psychology (Crozier & Cassell, 2016; Neergaard & Ulhâi, 2008; Symon & Cassell, 2006) and strategy (Anteby et al., 2014; Bettis et al., 2014). Hence qualitative research now takes place and is also published in most, if not all, of the sub-disciplines of business and management. There has also been a number of new journals focussing upon qualitative methods and issues, for example the Journal of Organizational Ethnography established in 2012; Qualitative Research in Financial Markets established in 2009; and Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management; an International Journal established in 2006. Furthermore, there have been a number of special issues of management journals focussing upon work informed by qualitative research methods. Sometimes these special issues bring together a range of different qualitative methods to support the development of a particular research topic, for example exploring and understanding dirty work (Grandy et al., 2014) or international marketing (Andriopoulos & Slater, 2013). Other special issues ...
