Unconventional Methodology in Organization and Management Research

Edited by Alan Bryman, Emeritus Professor, University of Leicester School of Business, and David A. Buchanan, Emeritus Professor, Cranfield University School of Management

Alan Bryman is Emeritus Professor of Organizational and Social Research at the University of Leicester School of Business, UK. His research interests focus on methodology, leadership, organizational analysis, Disneyization, and theme parks. He has published on social and organizational research methods, including two leading textbooks (Social Research Methods, and Business Research Methods) which have been translated into numerous other languages, and he has a specific interest in leadership in higher education.

David Buchanan is Emeritus Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Cranfield University School of Management, UK. His research interests lie with change management and organization politics. He is co-author of a leading text in organizational behaviour, and co-editor with Alan Bryman of The Sage Handbook of Organizational Research Methods (2009). Current projects include studies of change in healthcare, post-crisis change, and the implications of new technology for the role of the HR function.

Olivier Berthod is Assistant Professor of Organization and Management at the Jacobs University Bremen
Alex Bitektine is Associate Professor of Management at the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University
Alan Bryman is Emeritus Professor of Organizational and Social Research at the University of Leicester School of Business
David A. Buchanan is Emeritus Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Cranfield University School of Management
Paul Carlile is Professor of Management and Information Systems at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University
Petros Chamakiotis is Lecturer in Information Systems in the School of Business, Management and Economics at the University of Sussex
Laurie Cohen is Professor of Work and Organization at Nottingham University Business School
David Denyer is Professor Leadership and Organizational Change and Director of Research at Cranfield School of Management
Karl-Emanuel Dionne is Research Assistant at HEC Montréal
Joanne Duberley is Professor of Organization Studies at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham
Michael Grothe-Hammer is a research associate at the Institute of Social Sciences at Helmut Schmidt University
Robin Holt is Professor in the Department of Management, Philosophy and Politics at Copenhagen Business School
Steve Kempster is Professor of Leadership Learning and Development at Lancaster University Management School
Andrew Knight is Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Olin School of Business, Washington University in St. Louis
Robert Kozinets is the Jayne and Hans Hufschmid Professor of Strategic Public Relations and Business Communication at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Knut Lange is Senior Lecturer in International Business in the School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London
Jeffrey W. Lucas is Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland
Gordon Müller-Seitz is Professor of Strategy, Innovation and Cooperation at the University of Kaiserslautern
Manuela Nocker is a Senior Lecturer in Organization and Sustainability at the University of Essex Business School
Ken Parry is Professor of Leadership Studies at Deakin Business School
Helen Roby is Research Fellow in the Centre for Business in Society at Coventry University
Oliver Schilke is Assistant Professor in the Management and Organizations Department and an Assistant Professor (by courtesy) in the School of Sociology at the University of Arizona
Christopher J. Schneider is Associate Professor of Sociology at Brandon University in Manitoba
Jörg Sydow is Professor of Management at the School of Business & Economics at Freie Universität Berlin
Gillian Symon is Professor of Organization Studies in the School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London
Rebecca Whiting is Lecturer in the Department of Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London
Arnold Windeler is Professor of Sociology of Organizations at Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
Mike Zundel is Professor in the Work, Organization and Management Group at the University of Liverpool Management School

"Bryman and Buchanan have assembled an interesting and rigorous set of chapters designed to introduce readers to some of the most novel approaches to data collection, research design, and data analysis. Importantly, this assemblage includes ideas sampled from a broad array of disciplines spanning quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods domains. I strongly recommend this book to any scholar seeking to expand the tools comprising his or her methodological tool chest."

"At present there are strong institutional forces pushing scholars towards publishing safe, conventional papers, which rarely advance methodological thinking or generate major theoretical advances. Unconventional Methodology in Organization and Management Research is a welcome call for pluralism and diversity, which brings together a provocative and stimulating collection of contributions. It should be compulsory reading for students of research methods, but will also provide more experienced scholars with valuable insights and hopefully challenge them to expand their methodological repertoires."

"Most journal editors and readers crave 'something different' in topics of inquiry and the design of research. This book shows why conservatism in fact prevails and provides a powerful and comprehensive set of exemplars of alternative unconventional approaches, covering sources of data, methods, and modes of analysis. It will inspire scholars to be more imaginative in their research. Journal editors and their readers will be truly grateful."

"At a time it is common to bemoan research which is rather boring this stimulating book conceived by Alan Bryman and David Buchanan points out that methods matter and that most researchers use a limited range of conventional approaches which affects what they see and how they see it. Furthermore researchers' methodological perspective also shapes their interpretation of the research. They point the way forward for more adventurous research with unconventional approaches to methodology including unconventional settings, unconventional research design and data collection, and unconventional analytic approaches."