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The purpose of this paper is to present a research method which offers insights into the factors which affect the optimal use and implementation of telecare, or which may lead to its rejection by older people with support needs – factors pertinent to those involved in the design and delivery of both telecare research studies and of services.

The methodology outlined, influenced by Chicago School and Science and Technology Studies, emphasises the importance of context when examining social phenomena, such as the use of technology. The multi-method approach identified key patterns which provide insights into how telecare was used by a sample of older adults, including information on its suboptimal use and rejection.

The study of telecare use in real-life situations – and the investigation of other complex social interventions – requires an approach which fully considers the importance of context in explaining social phenomena. The main value of the method and findings lies in the insights offered to designers of larger studies which seek to generalise results, including telecare randomised control trials, as well as for those involved in the delivery of telecare services to achieve optimal adoption and use.

The study methods described combined ethnographic, longitudinal and qualitative methodologies and creative research tools in an innovative way to allow exploration of how context affects the uptake and use of telecare.

This paper aims to contribute to understandings of the dynamics of marketplace exclusion and explore the benefits of a performative approach to knowledge production.

Interactive documentary theatre is used to explore the pressing issue of marketplace exclusion in a deprived UK city. The authors present a series of three vignettes taken from the performance to explore the embodied and dialogical nature of performative knowledge production.

The performative mode of knowledge production has a series of advantages over the more traditional research approaches used in marketing. It is arguably more authentic, embodied and collaborative. However, this mode of research also has its challenges particularly in the interpretation and presentation of the data.

The paper highlights the implications of performative knowledge production for critical consumer learning. It also explores how the hitherto neglected concept of marketplace exclusion might bring together insights into the mechanics and outcomes of exclusion.

While theatrical and performative metaphors have been widely used to theorise interactions in the marketplace, as yet the possibility of using theatre as a form of inquiry within marketing has been largely neglected. Documentary theatre is revealing of the ways in which marketplace cultures can perpetuate social inequality. Involving local communities in the co-production of knowledge in this way gives them a voice in the policy arena not hitherto fully addressed in the marketing field. Similarly, marketplace exclusion as a concept has been sidelined in favour of marketplace discrimination and consumer vulnerability – the authors think it has the potential to bring these fields together in exploring the range of dynamics involved.

This article outlines the theoretical foundations of the research contributions of this edited collection about “Diversity and Discrimination in Research Organizations.” First, the sociological understanding of the basic concepts of diversity and discrimination is described and the current state of research is introduced. Second, national and organizational contextual conditions and risk factors that shape discrimination experiences and the management of diversity in research teams and organizations are presented. Third, the questions and research approaches of the individual contributions to this edited collection are presented.