Using contemporary examples of business and management research, predominantly within the context of India, this book offers numerous tools and techniques which can be applied to a diverse range of research needs. Topics discussed include: research designs, sampling, interviews, focus groups, case study research and mixed method research.
Using contemporary examples of business and management research, predominantly within the context of India, this book offers numerous tools and techniques which can be applied to a diverse range of research needs. Topics discussed include: research designs, sampling, interviews, focus groups, case study research and mixed method research.
What is my theory? How do I choose a theory? Why and how should I employ a particular method for collecting the empirical data? These basic questions concern everyone involved in research. A research study can be a voyage of discovering or choice of theoretical perspective as well as gathering empirics or facts on a problem or situation. This book provides a good guideline as to why and how to choose a particular theory or method to study an organisational phenomenon such as accounting. All the chapters provide both retrospective and contemporary views by scholars in the field. Each chapter documents the latest developments and research in accounting and control systems and provides valuable insights into methodological perspectives in accounting research. This second edition has also introduced a number of new chapters covering strategy-management control as practice, grounded theory approach, institutional logic and rhetoric, social interaction theory, actor-network theory and practice theory. The book is primarily intended for research students and academic researchers. It can also be used for undergraduate Honours course as well as postgraduate accounting and business methodology courses. Research organisations and consulting firms in accounting and business fields may also find this book useful. The principal aims of this second edition are (1) to update the chapters previously published in 2006 and (2) to introduce new chapters documenting recent developments in accounting research.
Advances in Mixed Methods Research provides an essential introduction to the fast-growing field of mixed methods research. Bergman′s book examines the current state of mixed-methods research, exploring exciting new ways of conceptualizing and conducting empirical research in the social and health sciences. Contributions from the world′s leading experts in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches are brought together, clearing the way for a more constructive approach to social research. These contributions cover the main practical and methodological issues and include a number of different visions of what mixed methods research is. The discussion also covers the use of mixed methods in a diverse range of fields, including sociology, education, politics, psychology, computational science and methodology. This book represents an important contribution to the ongoing debate surrounding the use of mixed methods in the social sciences and health research, and presents a convincing argument that the conventional, paradigmatic view of qualitative and quantitative research is outdated and in need of replacement. It will be essential reading for anyone actively engaged in qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research and for students of social research methods. Manfred Max Bergman is Chair of Methodology and Political Sociology at the University of Basel.
Research methods present the strategic management field with great opportunities and challenges. This first volume includes three types of chapters aimed at exploiting the opportunities and meeting the challenges. One group of chapters addresses broad issues of science, including the state of strategy research, issues surrounding the age of data, and how to build cumulative knowledge within the strategic management field. A second group of chapters highlight ways to improve specific practices, including the measurement of knowledge, the assessment of limited dependent variables, and designing studies. A final group of chapters describe how strategy researchers can better use particular methods. These methods include social network analysis, longitudinal analysis, qualitative methods, survey research, and structural equation modeling. Collectively, the chapters offer state of the art thinking about research methodology provided by intellectual leaders within the strategic management field.
This book focuses on ‘research on research methodologies’ – an area rarely addressed in social entrepreneurship. Methodological debates are integral to the quest for knowledge and to advancing theories and practices in any field, and, as a multi-disciplinary and emerging field, social entrepreneurship cannot avoid such debates. Providing a fresh perspective on social entrepreneurship research, the book includes contributions from diverse disciplinary settings, e.g. sociology, psychology, social work, anthropology, public policy, economics and management, and discusses the ‘methodological challenges’ of practice as well as social entrepreneurship research. Rather than favouring any particular method or methodological approach, it acknowledges the diversity of methodological approaches needed to reveal the nuances of social entrepreneurship and promote new knowledge and practices in this promising field.
The European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies was established 19 years ago. This event has been held in countries across Europe, including Ireland, England, France, Malta, Portugal, Spain to mention only a few of the countries who have hosted it. The conference is generally attended by participants from more than 25 countries. The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods (indexed by Scopus) publishes a special edition of the best papers presented at this conference. The conference once again played host to the Innovation in Teaching of Research Methodology Excellence Awards
Most researchers in organization and management studies stick to two or three traditional research methods like surveys and interviews. Sticking with the familiar is seen as a safe bet, and innovation is discouraged by academic incentives and rewards. But research participants are now suffering from 'survey fatigue', and using the same old methods runs the risk of generating the same old findings. This book describes twelve unconventional methodologies in organization and management research. These include unconventional research settings and data sources, unconventional research designs and data collection methods, unconventional analytic approaches, and designs and methods that exploit new technology developments. The aim is to encourage dialogue and experimentation with regard to the development of innovative, unconventional approaches to organization and management research. Several commentators have criticized the way in which research methods have become more formulaic, and have argued for greater diversity in research approaches. The methodological perspective that the we adopt shapes our interpretation of the information that we gather. Different methods generate different kinds of information, leading to different ways of understanding the phenomena that we are investigating. Our methods influence our styles of theorizing, ways of thinking and reasoning, and forms of writing and reporting research. This book will be of value to academic researchers in organization and management studies, Doctoral candidates, and Masters students on MBA and similar programmes.
Research methods present the strategic management field with opportunities and challenges. This second volume describes challenges and opportunities inherent in particular content areas, examines key ontological and epistemological issues in the strategic management context and also describes how strategy researchers can use particular methods.
