Search results

The aim of this review paper is to identify the methodological practices and presentational styles used to report interview-based research in “leading” management and organisation journals.

This paper reviews a sample of 225 articles using qualitative interviews that were published in management, human resource management, organisational behaviour and international business journals listed in the Financial Times 50 list between 2009 and 2019.

The review found diversity and plurality in the methodological practices used in these studies and the presentational styles used to report interview research.

The findings are expected to help doctoral students, early career scholars and those new to using qualitative interviews to make decisions about the appropriateness of different methodological practices and presentational styles. The findings are also expected to support editors, reviewers, doctoral examiners and conference organisers in making sense of the dissensus that exists amongst qualitative interview researchers (Johnson et al., 2007). These insights will also enable greater “paradigmatic awareness” (Plakoyiannaki and Budhwar, 2021, p. 5) in the evaluation of the quality of interview-based research that is not restricted to standardised criteria derived from positivism (Cassell and Symon, 2015).

To make sense of this plurality, the authors map these practices and styles against the onto-epistemological paradigms identified by Alvesson (2003, 2011). The paper contributes to calls for philosophical diversity in the evaluation of qualitative research. The authors specifically articulate concerns about the use of practices in interview-based studies that derive from the positivistic logic associated with quantitative research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate three patterns of stories employed by organisational actors to make sense of organisational change: stories of “the good old days”; stories of deception, taboo and silence; and stories of influence. Each pattern reflects one way in which organisational actors make sense of change and in which they use their stories for different purposes. This argument is illustrated by short evocative stories from the original data.

This paper derives from qualitative and inductive cross‐national research into organisational change and learning. Three manufacturing firms, one each from the UK, South Africa and Russia, were studied to investigate sensemaking under conditions of change. Data were collected through narrative interviews and interpreted using an inductive approach borrowing elements from grounded theory and analytic induction.

Personal accounts of experiences with organisational change (change stories) have a dual purpose. On the one hand, they are powerful sensemaking devices with which organisational actors make organisational change meaningful. On the other hand, they contest official change stories, reflecting the complex dynamics of organisational change in patterns of stories. The conclusion is that the experiences and agendas of different organisational actors shape the interests and actions of people in organisations, with decisive implications for patterns of organisational change.

Organisational change as a multi‐story process needs to be investigated through further qualitative and contextual research to provide richer insights into the dynamics of storytelling and sensemaking under conditions of organisational change.

Cross‐national study that builds on case and cross‐case analysis of autobiographical stories of experiences with organisational change.

This paper aims to propose, discuss and evaluate a four‐stage model of storyselling and its accompanying power dynamics, which are at the heart of coaching in organisations.

This paper is informed by a social constructionist view of coaching.

The conceptualisation of the coaching process as a series of storyselling activities highlights the power of storytelling to facilitate management development through coaching on the one hand and the potential for manipulation and abuse on the other.

The application of storytelling in organisational coaching as well as the darker and manipulative side of storyselling in the coaching process and relationships should inform future research into these important phenomena.

An analysis of the complex nature of the dynamics of coaching and the multi‐layered nature of the relationship between coach, organisation and coachee will be of benefit to practising coaches, purchasers and recipients of coaching as well as researchers interested in coaching.

The value of this paper lies in the exploration of the relatively new concept of storyselling and accompanying power dynamics in an organisational coaching context.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how organisational change can affect the development of personal identities using a narrative approach.

This paper derives from qualitative and inductive cross‐national research into organisational change and learning. Three manufacturing firms, one each from the UK, South Africa and Russia, were studied to investigate sensemaking under conditions of change. Data were collected through narrative interviews and interpreted using an inductive approach borrowing elements from grounded theory and analytic induction.

The data suggest that organisational change affects the personal identities of those involved through the way in which organisational actors' expectations are being met, exceeded or disappointed. The conclusion is that changes in the work environment can result in major revisions to organisational actors' biographical selves and accompanying stories that give meaning to past experiences and future expectations.

Further qualitative and inductive research is required to further investigate the dynamics of identity construction under conditions of organisational change.

Five short biographical stories by selected research participants provide rich insights into the dynamics of identity development under conditions of organisational change.

To investigate the relationship between learning, organizational change, organizational culture and narratives. The issues are explored on the basis of a case study of an automotive supplier based in North‐East England where learning is deeply integrated in the daily routines of the company.

The project reported upon in this paper was of qualitative and interpretive nature, using narrative cross‐national comparative research. The main data collection method was in‐depth interviewing with organizational members from all hierarchical levels. The interviews were tape‐recorded, transcribed and fed back to the interviewees. The data was analysed using grounded theory.

The research concludes that organizational change, learning and culture are deeply interwoven. More specifically, the success of the case study company is based to a large extent on its people focus and unique learning culture, which are reflected in, separable from and sustained by the prevailing organizational narratives.

The generalizability of case studies is limited, but opens up new questions to be explored by further research into the relationship of organizational change, learning, culture and narratives.

Organizational narratives are a powerful tool for managers to examine cultural aspects within the firm, which should be used more widely.

The paper raises interesting issues for management researchers, challenging some previously taken for granted assumptions.

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of the supportive role of coaching in team learning and professional development on a bespoke vocational university course for frontline family support workers.

This paper is informed by a social constructionist view of coaching and adult learning. Data were collected through six qualitative in‐depth interviews with course participants and one group interview and were interpreted using thematic analysis.

Course participants identified the learning environment, the course content, varied teaching and learning methods, and inclusion of coaching in the course as the main elements that supported their learning. The course has enabled them to develop on both personal and team level in their daily work and to achieve superior performance.

More research into the role of coaching to facilitate team learning of frontline employees from different organizational settings is required.

Adult educators designing bespoke university courses need to provide opportunities for social interaction among course participants as well as opportunities for advanced personal and professional development.

The research reported in the paper focuses on the role of coaching to enhance team learning in a multi‐disciplinary team of family support workers.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the manner in which storytelling has become an increasingly common part of management development, and to highlight some of the use and abuse of storytelling as a management development tool.

The paper adopts an initial warning about the way storytelling is being used, particularly by management and leadership coaches, questioning whether the term “storytelling” is an appropriate term to use for what is occurring. The notion of “storyselling” is introduced in such a context and, in so doing, stimulates critical reflection about storytelling. A summary of key ideas of other papers is also presented to assist the reader in better understanding the broader trajectories contained in the papers as a whole.

Many are now starting to question practical guidance that is emerging from organization and management literature. Multiple paradigms have yielded not complementary perspectives on management problems, but less than unambiguous voices and guidance. Storytelling has become increasingly popular because it fills a void left by the current state of the organization and management literature. The practical guidance that “preaches” how an approach worked for others in similar situations makes storytelling a big business. Often wrapped up in the rhetoric of management and leadership coaching, storytelling becomes a core educative tool – a tool that this paper, and volume, suggests needs to be carefully examined.

The paper, and the volume as a whole, represents an opportunity for readers to join with the authors in a reflexive consideration of storytelling. The paper and volume also represent a cautionary note to those who rely upon what is dubbed “storytelling” as a core educative tool.