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Purpose – This chapter presents four different approaches to doing and writing qualitative research in strategy and management based on different epistemological foundations. It describes two well-established “templates” for doing such work, and introduces two more recent “turns” that merit greater attention.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The chapter draws on methodological texts and a detailed analysis of successful empirical exemplars from the strategy and organization literature to show how qualitative research on strategy processes can be effectively carried out and written up.

Findings – The two “templates” are based on different logics and modes of writing. The first is based on a positivist epistemology and aims to develop nomothetic theoretical propositions, while the second is interpretive and more concerned to capture and gain insight from the meanings given to organizational phenomena. The two “turns” (the practice turn and the discursive turn) are not as well defined but are generating innovative contributions based on new ways of considering the social world.

Originality/Value – The chapter should be helpful to researchers considering qualitative methods for the study of strategy processes. It contributes by comparing different approaches and by recognizing that part of the challenge of doing qualitative research lies in writing it up to communicate its insights in a credible way. Thus while describing the different methods, the chapter also draws attention to effective forms of writing. In addition, it introduces and assesses two more recent “turns” that offer promising routes to novel insight as well as having particular ontological and epistemological affinities with qualitative research methods.

This article examines how establishing a family constitution influences strategic planning in family businesses, applying the strategy-as-practice theoretical framework.

We analyzed qualitative interviews with family members and non-family managers involved in both constitution-making and strategic planning.

The study reveals that family constitutions drive formalization of governance mechanisms, aligning family values with business goals. Key findings highlight that constitutions professionalize decision-making, enhance family cohesion and introduce structured strategic planning.

Our proposed model illustrates how constitutions act as a bridge, integrating family governance with corporate strategy, thereby supporting business continuity and succession. These results suggest a structured, governance-focused approach to strategic planning, where family constitutions play a central role in aligning family and business interests.

This paper aims to study the impact of the digital transformation on the role and governance of Information Technology departements. The study focuses on banks and insurance companies because they have been allocating significant resources to managing their digital transformation.

Inductive qualitative research of an exploratory type based on the Gioia method involved face-to-face interviews at the IT departments of seven financial sector companies in France. Axial encoding of the answers, recommended by Gioia, was used to classify the raw data and structure the analysis using a graphical presentation.

Four IT governance maturity situations were determined within the financial steering and performance analysis modes of digital transformation projects. This research aimed to enable companies to position their practices within the analysis framework defined through modelled maturity situations and to help them steer their digital transformation.

A panel was composed with most of the banks in France and some insurance companies. The link was done between Digital Maturity, and Digital and IT Governance, and with the use of the graphical qualitative research using the Gioia method.

The purpose of this study is to identify dynamic capabilities in joint R&D projects, that enable them to successfully achieve knowledge creation and discover how they behave throughout the life cycle of a collaborative project, although this understanding could enhance the interorganizational knowledge creation process.

The authors conducted 65 semi-structured interviews and utilized secondary data from a joint R&D project. The authors analyzed all data using the Gioia method.

The authors confirm that specific dynamic capabilities are needed to create interorganizational knowledge and discovered 11 knowledge-based dynamic capabilities (KBDCs) for successful innovation results in joint R&D projects. Gioia method allowed to discover that different KBDCs are necessary for the different phases of the project lifecycle. Additionally, the authors identify two microprocesses in which KBDCs are engaged in joint R&D projects, knowing that is a part of the sensing and seizing processes and synthetizing that is a part of the seizing process, and establish several KBDC microfoundations.

We used retrospective interviews. This kind of interviews are impacted by the experiences of the respondents lived after they have participated in the joint R&D project.

Dynamic capabilities for collaborative knowledge creation and their specific microfoundations can help managers delineate their strategic practices and actions to achieve more sustainable, long-lasting results from joint R&D projects.

The authors improve Teece’s model and propose two microprocesses in which dynamic capabilities are engaged, that emerged in the context of a joint R&D project, knowing that is a part of the sensing and seizing processes and synthetizing that is a part of the seizing process, which supplement those already known: sensing, seizing and transforming. The authors tested the Gioia method, which is important for detecting dynamic capabilities; therefore, the authors propose a methodological advance that can contribute to future studies. The authors provide an interorganizational perspective on KBDC and a methodological view of the changes in KBDCs required for joint R&D projects.

This chapter argues that the primary reason for the underdeveloped state of microfoundations research in language and communications studies is methodological. It asserts that the long-standing methodological division between micro and macro analyses (traditionally small-scale and large-scale, respectively) has led to their continued theoretical separation. The paper draws from Giddens’ theory of structuration and newly developed computational methods to outline an alternative, mixed-methods framework for discourse analysis that the author calls Recursive Analysis (RA). The author demonstrates the application of the RA framework through a case study of the electric vehicle industry that aligns small-scale and large-scale textual analysis to generate theoretical insights.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the detrimental consequences of participating in stokvels among women entrepreneurs within the South African township economy.

The research used the Gioia methodology, involving the implementation of a qualitative inquiry with an inductive approach. Semi-structured interviews served as the primary method for data collection. The study had a sample comprising 20 women entrepreneurs located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Narratives on the detrimental consequences of participating in stokvels among women entrepreneurs within the South African township economy included fraudsters, misunderstanding and dishonesty among stokvel partners, year-end robbery and theft, stokvels being dominated by men, operating outside of formal regulatory frameworks, exclusion and limited funding.

Sample size challenges feature as a notable limitation, including the research being conducted in only one province of South Africa. Caution should be exercised when seeking to generalize the findings in other contexts.

While there is an array of literature on the impact of stokvels on entrepreneurship, there are deficiencies in studies that have looked at the detrimental consequences of stokvels on women entrepreneurs. As a result, the goal of this research is to add to the present corpus of African entrepreneurship literature, specifically in the context of South Africa.

This paper aims to explore the influence of spatial dynamics on street vendors and examines the insecurities and coping mechanisms they faced and adopted during the pandemic. It examines the precarious nature of street vending during a global economic shock, highlighting the vulnerabilities and resilience of this informal sector.

This study uses a case study approach, conducting semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 74 street vendors in two key markets: Bara Bazaar (natural market) and Treasury Square (non-natural). The authors use the Gioia method, renowned for its systematic rigour in exploring the challenges and adaptations of street vendors during periods of economic uncertainty and crisis.

This study reveals that COVID-19 lockdowns profoundly impacted the security of tribal street vendors operating in natural and non-natural markets. It sheds light on the mechanism of shadow security, observed as a form of diverse coping mechanisms adopted by vendors during the pandemic, such as collective fund pooling, poultry farming and adapting new business models – from changing the goods they sell to transitioning between regular and mobile vending or from retail shops to street vending.

This study used the grounded theory framework of sustainable livelihood strategies and explores how street vendors can achieve sustainability through street vending. It further proposes recommendations for urban policies tailored across various dimensions.

This paper highlights indigenous mechanisms to secure livelihoods, which act as safety nets and facilitate a form of shadow security. The paper also determines how the spatial dynamics of a vending location can preferably change the security of the street vendors in times of crisis. This research challenges the oversimplified notion that the social security of street vendors cannot be neatly categorised as secure or insecure. Instead, it underscores vendors’ dynamic strategies and resilience to sustain their livelihoods amidst economic disruptions.

The study aims to explore the role of frugal and sustainable entrepreneurship in fostering inclusive development. It specifically investigates the role of social entrepreneurs who use innovative approaches to address societal challenges.

The study uses a qualitative approach using a case study based on Gioia method. Content analysis of interviews with the social entrepreneurs and their team members help establish the underlying principles of frugal innovation (FI).

The study highlights how social entrepreneurs use FI principles (re-use, re-purpose, re-combine and rapidity) to address the social needs and promote inclusive development.

The research offers valuable insights for both new and established social entrepreneurs. By showcasing the practical application of the FI principles, the study provides a guiding light for fostering sustainable and inclusive development. Frugal entrepreneurship, with its collaborative nature and ability to maximize limited resources, may emerge as a key strategy for social entrepreneurs to create a more inclusive, secure and sustainable future.

The research breaks new ground by examining the role of frugal and sustainable entrepreneurship in fostering inclusive development. This unique perspective explains how frugal and sustainable practices are tailored and adapted to address localized issues. Furthermore, the use of a case study allowed for the emergence of new themes and insights not anticipated earlier.

This paper aims to describe the phenomenon of tyrannical leadership in the academic setting, emphasizing the research scholars. It seeks to understand how research scholars experience and perceive tyrannical leadership, its effects on their scholarly output and well-being, and coping strategies.

This study uses a qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach, utilizing the Gioia methodology to explore the experiences of research scholars under tyrannical leadership. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 14 research scholars from various disciplines who have experienced tyrannical leadership. The conservation of resources (COR) theory served as the theoretical framework for analysis.

This study reveals four key dimensions of tyrannical leadership in academia: manifestations of tyrannical leadership, consequences on scholars, institutional and personal responses, and impacts on the future academic landscape. The main issues were stress and social isolation, decreased performance and study results, and potential effects on future employment opportunities. Lack of institutional support and the cultivation of individual ways of dealing with stress were also mentioned.

This study provides original insights into how tyrannical leadership impacts doctoral students’ academic performance, well-being and coping strategies, addressing a significant gap in both leadership and higher education research. It extends the application of COR theory to educational contexts and offers insights that can inform policy changes and improve support systems for early-career researchers in higher education.

This chapter attempts to advance our understanding regarding social innovation with a focus on public sector organizations. The aim is to answer the following question: “How does a manager’s novel knowledge gained from decisional interventions act as a resource to achieve social innovation?” The study employed a qualitative research approach. Findings have stemmed from secondary sources such as officially published reports and media releases of three local councils of Victoria, Australia. The data were first contextually positioned and then analyzed by following the Gioia methodology. Research findings indicate that tacit knowledge gained by public managers helps them to make better decisional interventions. In different situations such as handling disturbance, negotiating with other parties, allocating resources, or being an intrapreneur, the decisions and its quality will be improved if public managers enhance their personal knowledge. This study also offers policymakers a new approach to deal with the social problems innovatively. It, therefore, provides insights on topics such as sustained social transformation through public reforms, navigation of resources, and wise leadership.