Phenomenology-based Ethnography for Management Studies and Organizational Analysis

TY - JOUR

T1 - Phenomenology-based Ethnography for Management Studies and Organizational Analysis

AU - Vom Lehn, Dirk

PY - 2019/1/30

Y1 - 2019/1/30

N2 - This article introduces phenomenology-based ethnography as a novel ethnographic approach for research in management studies and organizational analysis and describes three methods that have been developed from this approach: life-world-analytical ethnography, focused ethnography and go-along ethnography. Phenomenology-based ethnography has emerged from developments in sociology that draw on ‘social phenomenology’ developed by Alfred Schütz. These developments involve the use of phenomenology-based ethnographic methods that shift the focus of research onto participants’ subjective experiences of the field further than has been required by other ethnographic approaches. This article uses a set of dimensions that allow a comparison of these phenomenology-based methods’ aims, techniques of data collection and analysis, and required effort. These three methods are then compared with current ethnographic methods used in organizational research and management studies. The article concludes with a discussion that explores and addresses the critique of how phenomenology-based ethnography conceives the relationship between the researcher and the research subject.

AB - This article introduces phenomenology-based ethnography as a novel ethnographic approach for research in management studies and organizational analysis and describes three methods that have been developed from this approach: life-world-analytical ethnography, focused ethnography and go-along ethnography. Phenomenology-based ethnography has emerged from developments in sociology that draw on ‘social phenomenology’ developed by Alfred Schütz. These developments involve the use of phenomenology-based ethnographic methods that shift the focus of research onto participants’ subjective experiences of the field further than has been required by other ethnographic approaches. This article uses a set of dimensions that allow a comparison of these phenomenology-based methods’ aims, techniques of data collection and analysis, and required effort. These three methods are then compared with current ethnographic methods used in organizational research and management studies. The article concludes with a discussion that explores and addresses the critique of how phenomenology-based ethnography conceives the relationship between the researcher and the research subject.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85047551997

U2 - 10.1111/1467-8551.12309

DO - 10.1111/1467-8551.12309

M3 - Article

SN - 1045-3172

VL - 30

SP - 188

EP - 202

JO - British Journal of Management

JF - British Journal of Management

IS - 1

ER -