This article contributes to an understanding of action research as a phenomenological methodological paradigm for carrying out research into management and organizations. Two case studies of action research are presented. Three areas of choice—overtness, visibility, and riskiness—that emerge out of the cases and that are significant issues in designing action research projects are discussed. Highlighting and explicating these provides a basis for greater rigor and reflexivity in action research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alderfer, C. (1993). Emerging developments in action research. Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, 29(4), 389-492.
2.
Alvesson, M., & Sköldberg, K. (2000). Reflexive methodology: New vistas for qualitative research. London: Sage.
3.
Argyris, C., Putnam, R., & Smith, D. M. (1985). Action science. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
4.
Bryden-Miller, M. (1997). Participatory action research: Psychology and social change. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4), 657-666.
5.
Bryman, A. (2001). Social research methods. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
6.
Checkland, P., & Holwell, S. (1998). Action research: its nature and validity. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 11(1), 9-21.
7.
Christians, C. (2000). Ethics and politics in qualitative research. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., (pp. 135-155). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
8.
Coch, L., & French, J. R. P., Jr. (1948). On overcoming resistance to change. Human Relations, 1(4), 512-533.
9.
Deising, P. (1972). Patterns of discovery in the social sciences. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
10.
de Laine, M. (2000). Fieldwork, participation and practice: Ethics and dilemmas in qualitative research. London: Sage.
Ditton, J. (1977). Part-time crime: An ethnography of fiddling and pilferage. London: Macmillan.
13.
Eden, C., & Ackermann, F. (1998). Making strategy: The journey of strategic management. London: Sage Ltd.
14.
Eden, C., & Huxham, C. (1996a). Action research for the study of organisations. In S. Clegg, C. Hardy, & W. Nord (Eds.), The handbook of organisation studies (pp. 526-542). London: Sage.
15.
Eden, C., & Huxham, C. (1996b). Action research for management research. British Journal of Management, 7(1), 75-86.
16.
Eden, C., & Huxham, C. (2001). The negotiation of purpose in multi-organizational collaborative groups. Journal of Management Studies, 38(3), 351-369.
17.
Eisenhardt, K. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550.
18.
Elden, M., & Chisholm, R. (1993a). Special issue on action research. Human Relations, 46(2), 121-298.
19.
Elden, M., & Chisholm, R. (1993b). Emerging varieties of action research: Introduction to the special issue. Human Relations, 46(2), 121-142.
20.
Flick, U. (2002). An introduction to qualitative research (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
21.
Gill, J., & Johnson, P. (1997). Research methods for managers (2nd ed.). London: Paul Chapman.
22.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
23.
Gottdiener, M. (1979). Field research and video tape. Sociological Inquiry, 49(4), 50-66.
24.
Greenwood, D., & Levin, M. (1998). Introduction to action research: Social research for social change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
25.
Hardy, C., & Clegg, S. (1997). Relativity without relativism: Reflexivity in post-paradigm organization studies. British Journal of Management, 8(Special Issue): S5-S18.
26.
Heron, J. (1996). Co-operative inquiry. London: Sage.
27.
Holland, R. (1999). Reflexivity. Human Relations, 52(4), 463-484.
28.
Huxham, C. (with Macdonald, D.). (1992). Introducing collaborative advantage. Management Decision, 30(3), 50-56.
29.
Huxham, C. (1993). Pursuing collaborative advantage. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 44(6), 599-611.
30.
Huxham, C. (1996). Advantage or inertia: Making collaboration work. In R. Paton, G. Clark, G. Jones, & P. Quintas (Eds.), The new management reader (pp. 238-254). London: Routledge.
31.
Huxham, C. (2003a). Theorizing collaboration practice. Public Management Review, 5(3).
32.
Huxham, C. (2003b). Action research as a methodology for theory development. Policy and Politics, 31(2), 239-248.
33.
Huxham, C., & Beech, N. (2002). Points of power in interorganizational forms: Learning from a learning network, In Best 10% Proceedings of the Academy of Management Conference, Denver, CO.
34.
Huxham, C., & Beech, N. (2003). Contrary prescriptions: Recognizing good practice tensions in management. Organization Studies, 24(1), 67-91.
35.
Huxham, C., & Vangen, S. (1996). Working together: Key themes in the management of relationships between public and non profit organisations. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 9(7), 5-17.
36.
Huxham, C., & Vangen, S. (2000a). Ambiguity, complexity and dynamics in the membership of collaboration. Human Relations, 53(6), 771-806.
37.
Huxham, C., & Vangen, S. (2000b). Leadership in the shaping and implementation of collaboration agendas: How things happen in a (not quite) joined up world. Academy of Management Journal, 43(6), 1159-1175.
38.
Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2000). Participatory action research. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.). Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 567-606). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
39.
Krim, R. (1988). Managing to learn: Action inquiry in city hall. In P. Reason (Ed.), Human inquiry in action: Developments in new paradigm research (pp. 144-162). London: Sage.
40.
Kulka, R. (1982). Idiosyncrasy and circumstance: Choices and constraints in the research process. In J. McGrath, J. Martin, & R. Kulka (Eds.), Judgement calls in research (pp. 41-68). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
41.
Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2(4), 34-46.
42.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (1999). Designing qualitative research (3rd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
43.
Martin, J. (1982). A garbage can model of the research process. In J. McGrath, J. Martin, & R. Kulka (Eds.), Judgement calls in research (pp. 17-40). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
44.
McGrath, J. (1982). Dilemmatics: The study of research choices and dilemmas. In J. McGrath, J. Martin, & R. Kulka (Eds.), Judgement calls in research (pp. 69-102). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
45.
Miles, M., & Huberman, M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
46.
Mwaluko, G. S., & Ryan, T. B. (2000). The systemic nature of action learning programmes. Systems Research and Behavioural Science, 17(4), 393-401.
47.
Peters, M., & Robinson, V. (1984). The origins and status of action research. Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, 20(2), 113-124.
48.
Putnam, W. (1999). Transforming social practice: An action science perspective. Management Learning, 30(2), 177-187.
49.
Raelin, J. (1997). Action learning and action science: Are they different? Organizational Dynamics, 25(1), 21-35.
50.
Rapoport, R. (1970). Three dilemmas in action research: with special reference to the Tavistock experience. Human Relations, 23(6), 499-513.
51.
Reason, P., & Bradbury, H. (Eds.). (2000). The handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice. London: Sage.
52.
Revans, R. W. (1982). The origins and growth of action learning. Bickley, UK: Chartwell Bratt.
53.
Rothlisberger, F., & Dickson, W. (1939). Management and the worker. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
54.
Rowan, J. (1981). A dialectical paradigm for research. In P. Reason & J. Rowan (Eds.), Human inquiry: A sourcebook of new paradigm research (pp. 93-112). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
55.
Schein, E. (1995). Process consultation, action research and clinical inquiry: Are they the same? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 10(6), 14-19.
56.
Silverman, D. (1993). Interpreting qualtitative data: Methods for analysing talk, text and interaction. London: Sage.
57.
Smith, M. E., & Malina, D. (1999). Cross-cultural colaborative research: Towards reflexivity. Academy of Management Journal, 42(1), 76-86.
58.
Stringer, E. (Ed.). (1996). Action research: A handbook for practitioners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
59.
Susman, G., & Evered, R. (1978). An assessment of the scientific merits of action research. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23(23), 582-603.
60.
Tedlock, B. (2000). Ethnography and ethnographioc representation. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 455-486). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
61.
Thomas, J. (Ed.). (1993). Doing critical ethnography (pp. 455-486). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
62.
Torbert, W. R. (1976). Creating a community of inquiry: conflict, collaboration, transformation. New York: John Wiley.
63.
Vangen, S. (1998). Transferring insight on collaboration to practice. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Strathclyde.
64.
Vangen, S., & Huxham, C. (1998a). Creating a TIP: Issues in the design of a process for transferring theoretical insight about inter-organisational collaboration into practice. International Journal of Public-Private Partnerships, 1(1), 19-42.
65.
Vangen, S., & Huxham, C. (1998b). The role of trust in the achievement of collaborative advantage. Paper presented at the 14th EGOS Colloquium, Maastricht.
66.
Vangen, S., & Huxham, C. (2003). Nurturing collaborative relations: Building trust in inter-organizational collaboration. Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, 39(1), 5-31.
67.
Vangen, S., & Huxham, C. (in press). Enacting leadership for collaborative advantage: Dilemmas of ideology and pragmatism in the activities of partnership managers. British Journal of Management.
68.
Whetton, D. (1989). What constitutes a theoretical contribution? Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 490-495.
69.
Whitehead, J. (1994). How do I improve the quality of my management? Management Learning, 25, 137-153.
70.
Whyte, W. F. (Ed.). (1991). Participatory action research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
71.
Willis, P., & Trondman, M. (2000). Manifesto for ethnography. Ethnography, 1(1), 5-16.
72.
Yin, R. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
