scholarly journals Unpacking the problem of research access(es)

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mira Karjalainen ◽  
Charlotta Niemistö ◽  
Jeff Hearn
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Ethnography ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Access To The Field ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to unpack the question of research access(es), especially ethnographic access, seen as an intrinsic part of research projects that should be scrutinized carefully to gain a deeper understanding of the field. Two main questions are asked: what does the process of accessing knowledge-intensive businesses (KIBs), specifically large international consultancies (LICs), tell us about access more generally? And what does accessing KIBs, specifically LICs, tell us about these organizations more generally? Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on discussions of research access issues in organizational ethnography, in part when setting out to employ shadowing as a method of inquiry. It focuses on the challenges of gaining access to KIBs, where confidentiality is central to the work. The empirical focus is a study of LICs from where the data for this paper is drawn. Findings – To answer the two questions, the paper provides an analysis of: accesses in the plural; ongoing processes of accessing; multiple levels of access and contradictory negotiations; research accesses, including access difficulties, as constitutive of research itself; and research accesses as dependent on and giving data on the organizations in question. Building on literatures on ethnographic access and empirical data gained while negotiating access to LICs, this paper contributes to prior research on access, focusing on LICs as an arena for organizational ethnography, whose particular character has to be taken into account when conducting research. Originality/value – This paper examines the processes of accessing, a neglected but important part of research: the phase(s) of negotiating and gaining access to the field, and the need to fully absorb these phases into the research process as a whole. Access as such multi-level ongoing processes is often neglected, however, in both academic writing and importantly in doctoral education curricula. Therefore, the paper offers guidelines for use in research training.

Whose home is it anyway? Performing multiple selves while doing organizational ethnography

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boukje Cnossen
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Research Process ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Multiple Selves ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Ethnography ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
At Home

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to nuance the idea of natural access proposed by Mats Alvesson in his description of at-home ethnography, and to offer a performative view of Alvesson’s suggestion that, in at-home ethnography, the ethnographer must work with “the processual nature of the researcher’s self.”Design/methodology/approachThe author offers a reflection on the several years of ethnographic research the author conducted, of which some parts were done in a living community of which the author was part. Being literally at home, as well as being very familiar in the other research settings the author describes, allows for a critical reflection on what “at-homeness” means.FindingsUsing Butler’s notion of performativity, the author argues that “the processual nature of the researcher’s self” Alvesson speaks of, can best be understood as multiple selves, of which some emerge during the research process. The author furthermore problematizes Alvesson’s use of the term “natural access,” by arguing that this kind of access is neither easy, nor devoid of power relations.Originality/valueThis paper uses an experience of conducting research in the home, as well as an experience conducting research in a setting where the researcher arguably blent in well, to question what the “at-home” in at-home ethnography means, and how the researcher can deal with it.

scholarly journals Assistive tools for disability arts: collaborative experiences in working with disabled artists and stakeholders

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Creed
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Visual Artists ◽  
Content Type ◽  
British Council ◽  
Artistic Work ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the experiences in working collaboratively with physically impaired visual artists and other stakeholders (e.g. disability arts organisations, charities, personal assistants, special needs colleges, assistive technologists, etc.) to explore the potential of digital assistive tools to support and transform practice. Design/methodology/approach – The authors strategically identified key organisations as project partners including Disability Arts Shropshire, Arts Council England, the British Council, SCOPE, and National Star College (a large special needs college). This multi-disciplinary team worked together to develop relationships with disabled artists and to collaboratively influence the research focus around investigating the current practice of physically impaired artists and the impact of digital technologies on artistic work. Findings – The collaborations with disabled artists and stakeholders throughout the research process have enriched the project, broadened and deepened research impact, and enabled a firsthand understanding of the issues around using assistive technology for artistic work. Artists and stakeholders have become pro-active collaborators and advocates for the project as opposed to being used only for evaluation purposes. A flexible research approach was crucial in helping to facilitate research studies and enhance impact of the work. Originality/value – This paper is the first to discuss experiences in working with physically impaired visual artists – including the benefits of a collaborative approach and the considerations that must be made when conducting research in this area. The observations are also relevant to researchers working with disabled participants in other fields.

scholarly journals Researcher self-care in organizational ethnography

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Vincett
Keyword(s):  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Project Planning ◽  
Care Plan ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Ethics

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer practical researcher self-care strategies to prepare for and manage the emotions involved in doing organizational ethnographic research. Institutional ethics policies or research training programs may not provide guidance, yet emotions are an integral part of research, particularly for ethnographers immersed in the field or those working with sensitive topics or vulnerable or marginalized people. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on ethnographic fieldwork over nine months with a voluntary organization in the UK, Yarl’s Wood Befrienders, to explore the experiences and activities of volunteer visitors who offer emotional support to women detained indefinitely in an immigration removal center. The author is a “complete member researcher,” or “at-home ethnographer,” a volunteer visitor and a former detainee. Findings The author describes the emotional impact the research personally had on her and shares learning from overcoming “compassion fatigue.” Self-care strategies based on the literature are recommended, such as a researcher self-assessment, identification of the emotional risks of the research, and self-care plan formulated during project planning. Suggested resources and activities to support the well-being of researchers are explored. Practical implications This paper provides practical resources for researchers to prepare for and cope with emotional and mental health risks throughout the research process. It builds awareness of safeguarding researchers and supporting them with handling emotional disruptions. Without adequate support, they may be psychologically harmed and lose the potential to critically engage with emotions as data. Originality/value The literature on emotions in doing research rarely discusses self-care strategies. This paper offers an actionable plan for researchers to instil emotional and mental well-being into the research design to navigate emotional challenges in the field and build resilience.

scholarly journals Fieldworking the relational complexity of organizations

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-439
Author(s):  
Wafa Said Mosleh ◽  
Henry Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Norbert Elias ◽  
The Social ◽  
Organizational Ethnography ◽  
Increased Sensitivity ◽  
Ethnographic Methodology ◽  
Relational Complexity

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present researcher's reflexive writing about emergent events in research collaborations as a way of responding to the process-figurational sociology of Norbert Elias in the practice of organizational ethnography.Design/methodology/approachDrawing parallels between Norbert Elias' figurative account of social life and auto-ethnographic methodology, this paper re-articulates the entanglement of social researchers in organizational ethnographic work. Auto-ethnographic narration is explored as means to inquire from within the emerging relational complexity constituted by organizational dynamics. Writing about emergent events in the research process becomes a way of inquiring into the social figurations between the involved stakeholders; thus nurturing sense-making and increasing the awareness and sensitivity of the researcher to her own entanglement with the relational complexity of the organization under study.FindingsIn the paper, we argue that the writing of auto-ethnographic narratives of emergent field encounters is a process of inquiry that continuously depicts the temporal development of the relational complexity in organizations. Viewing that from the perspective of Elias' concept of figuration, we find a common commitment to the processual nature of research processes, which insists on moving beyond objectifying empirical insights.Originality/valueThis paper encourages awareness of the interdependency between ourselves as social researchers and field actors as we engage with the field. It moves beyond simplifying the ethnographic research agenda to that of “studying” and “describing” organizations. It offers unique insights into the organizational context, and increased sensitivity toward the social entanglement of the experiences that we, ourselves, as researchers are part of.

The seven deadly sins and ethnography

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caio Coelho ◽  
Carlos Eduardo de Lima
Keyword(s):  
Research Process ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Seven Deadly Sins ◽  
Organization And Management ◽  
Single Piece ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Organizational Ethnography ◽  
Ethnographic Data

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to conduct a general review of the ethnographic method. It uses metaphors to read several pieces of ethnographic research and discuss the different issues encountered during the research process. The review consisted of new articles but also important books that helped to construct and maintain the field of organizational ethnography.Design/methodology/approachThe paper aims to discuss the ethnography research process through the metaphor of the Christian Seven Sins. It proposes a reflection on planning and conducting ethnographic research. The seven sins are used as a metaphor that can lead to more reflexive research for educational and explanatory purposes. Ultimately, the authors encourage organizational scholars to conduct ethnographic research.FindingsThe metaphors of the Christian seven sins represent issues that may arise during an ethnographic research. Gluttony is the dive in all topics that may appear; Greed is to lose yourself in the amount of data; Lust is to get too much involved in the field; Wrath is to take the struggles of the subjects as your own; Envy is to judge other's research according to your paradigm; Sloth is to not collect enough ethnographic data and Pride is forgetting to have a critical perspective toward your data. The redemption of these “sins” brings reflexivity to ethnographic research.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper opts to treat ethnography as a methodology that can be utilized with different epistemological and ontological approaches which could diminish the degree of reflection. No metaphor would be able to explain all the details of an ethnographic research project, still the seven sins provided a wide range of ideas to be reflected upon when using the methodology.Practical implicationsAs a paper on ethnography, researchers and especially PhD students and early careers can get to know the issues that can arise during ethnographic research and put them in contact with good examples of ethnography in Organization and Management Studies.Originality/valueThis paper groups different complexities and discussions around ethnographic research that may entail research reflexivity. These ideas were scattered through various ethnographic publications. With the review their highlights can be read in a single piece. With these discussions, the paper aims to encourage researchers to conduct good quality ethnography.

scholarly journals The impostor syndrome: language barriers in organizational ethnography

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Rosales
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Language Barriers ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Language ◽  
The Past ◽  
Organizational Ethnography ◽  
Impostor Syndrome

PurposeThe use of organizational ethnography has grown significantly during the past decades. While language is an important component of ethnographic research, the challenges associated with language barriers are rarely discussed in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to open up a discussion on language barriers in organizational ethnography.Design/methodology/approachThe author draws on her experience as a PhD student doing an organizational ethnography of an emergency department in a country where she initially did not speak the local language.FindingsThe paper examines the author's research process, from access negotiation to presentation of findings, illustrating the language barriers encountered doing an ethnography in parallel to learning the local language in Sweden.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper calls for awareness of the influence of the ethnographer's language skills and shows the importance of discussing this in relation to how we teach and learn ethnography, research practice and diversity in academia.Originality/valueThe paper makes three contributions to organizational ethnography. First, it contributes to the insider/outsider debate by nuancing the ethnographer's experience. Second, it answers calls for transparency by presenting a personal ethnographic account. Third, it contributes to developing the methodology by offering tips to deal with language barriers in doing ethnography abroad.

Challenges in preparing academic staff for research training and supervision

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 705-715
Author(s):  
Angelito Calma
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Training And Supervision ◽  
Excellent Research ◽  
The Government

Purpose – Little attention has been given to the preparedness of academic staff for their role as research trainers or supervisors. In addition, limited work has been done on this topic in developing countries such as the Philippines. The Philippines is an important case, as it is a national priority to develop university research and improve research training practices, and there is a graduate skill deficit (in terms of critical thinking, academic writing, and data analysis skills). The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges confronting the government and universities that relate to academic staff development, research supervision, and staff and student support, involving 53 government and university executives and academics from the Philippines. Design/methodology/approach – The survey involved the participation of selected government and university executives, including the zonal research centre directors, via interviews; and survey of academic staff via a questionnaire. Findings – Results indicate that the most critical challenges for government and universities in the Philippines relate to effectively meeting the dual demands of teaching and research, building a critical mass of researchers, and developing excellent research skills and competences among staff and students. Originality/value – The paper is the first to study research training and supervision in Philippine universities, providing a case for the Philippines internationally, which is less featured in research.

The Consequences of Accounting Failure for Innovation: A Multi-Level Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-124
Author(s):  
Megan F. Hess ◽  
Andrew M. Hess
Keyword(s):  
Firm Level ◽  
Psychological Response ◽  
Top Executives ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Threat Rigidity ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Financial Misconduct ◽  
Public Disclosures ◽  
Level Analysis

SYNOPSIS In this study, we investigate the relation between accounting failure and innovation at multiple levels in an organization by developing and testing a model for how top executives and functional managers might change their risk preferences and their innovation investments in response to public disclosures of financial misconduct. At the firm level, we find that accounting failures reduce subsequent investments in R&D, as predicted by a threat rigidity (“play it safe”) psychological response among top executives. At the project level, accounting failures have the opposite effect, resulting in an increase in the number of exploratory projects, as predicted by a failure trap (“swing for the fences”) psychological response among functional managers. Unpacking this relation at multiple levels of analysis helps us to understand the complex ways in which financial misconduct shapes a firm's innovation activities and appreciate the far-reaching consequences of accounting failure.

Big data investments in knowledge and non-knowledge intensive firms: what the market tells us

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 623-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingting Zhang ◽  
William Yu Chung Wang ◽  
David J. Pauleen
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Stock Prices ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Information Value ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the value of big data investments by examining the market reaction to company announcements of big data investments and tests the effect for firms that are either knowledge intensive or not. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on an event study using data from two stock markets in China. Findings The stock market sees an overall index increase in stock prices when announcements of big data investments are revealed by grouping all the listed firms included in the sample. Increased stock prices are also the case for non-knowledge intensive firms. However, the stock market does not seem to react to big data investment announcements by testing the knowledge intensive firms along. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the literature on assessing the economic value of big data investments from the perspective of big data information value chain by taking an unexpected change in stock price as the measure of the financial performance of the investment and by comparing market reactions between knowledge intensive firms and non-knowledge intensive firms. Findings of this study can be used to refine practitioners’ understanding of the economic value of big data investments to different firms and provide guidance to their future investments in knowledge management to maximize the benefits along the big data information value chain. However, findings of study should be interpreted carefully when applying them to companies that are not publicly traded on the stock market or listed on other financial markets. Originality/value Based on the concept of big data information value chain, this study advances research on the economic value of big data investments. Taking the perspective of stock market investors, this study investigates how the stock market reacts to big data investments by comparing the reactions to knowledge-intensive firms and non-knowledge-intensive firms. The results may be particularly interesting to those publicly traded companies that have not previously invested in knowledge management systems. The findings imply that stock investors tend to believe that big data investment could possibly increase the future returns for non-knowledge-intensive firms.

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