A rich question calling for qualitative research Academy of Management PDW, August 2008 The Power of Richness IV Ann Langley, HEC Montréal

A focus on processes: how things happen. Four HOW types of questions where qualitative methods can make important contributions How 1: Elucidating mysteries How 2: Opening up black boxes How 3: Understanding temporal flows How 4: Capturing & guiding practice

: : Elucidating mysteries Examples of important mysteries Challenger and Columbia disasters, Enron and Worldcom débâcles How did these happen? What can we learn? Quantitative models Generalized abstract cases Correlational, variance-based causality. Qualitative research Focus on the particular Attention to the richness and detail Sequential, narrative-based causality

: Elucidating a mystery Why did NASA managers, who not only had all the information prior to the launch but also were warned against it, decide to proceed? In retelling how the decision unfolded through the eyes of the managers and the engineers, Vaughan uncovers an incremental descent into poor judgment, supported by a culture of high-risk technology. No safety rules were broken. No single individual was at fault. Instead, the cause of the disaster is a story not of evil but of the banality of organizational life. ( e=synopsis&bookkey=44796 ) e=synopsis&bookkey=44796 University of Chicago Press, 1997

The perfect quantitative model Opening up black boxes Variable 1 Variable 2 Variable n Dependent variable But what is going on in between? Particularly important question when relationships are surprising Qualitative research can help: E.g., Upper echelons research – How does top team diversity actually influence performance *** High R-squared Significant coefficients

Sutton & Rafaeli (AMJ, 1988): Displayed emotions and sales Opening up a black box Sales ??? Hypothesis: + Result: -- Interprétation developed by participant observation, interviewing, case studies

Understanding temporal flows Quantitative models often ignore time (cross-sectional generalizations) or simplify it using devices such as lags and rates Yet time and process are inescapable. Process is fundamental: The river is not an object but an ever-changing flow; the sun is not a thing, but a flaming fire. Everything in nature is a matter of process, of activity, of change. --Rescher, 1996 Qualitative research offers potential for understanding the world more dynamically

Understanding temporal flow Examples: Studies of organizational change in the health care sector Change as dialectic and never-ending: beyond static dependent variables and outcomes The dynamics of collective leadership: Leaders’ actions can lead to short-term substantive change but long term loss of position through the political effects of their actions (Denis, Lamothe, Langley, AMJ, 2001) The power of numbers: Using number systems can give managers power initially by legitimating their actions, but may subsequently lead to loss of discretion (Denis, Langley, Rouleau, SO, 2006)

Capturing & guiding practice Quantitative research has led to recent interest in “evidence-based management” Quantitative generalizations may say what to do, but not how to get it done in real contexts E.g., Goal-setting produces high employee performance But how to implement goal-setting in a firm that doesn’t use it? This may require a cultural change. Will the process of implementing it conserve its benefits or corrupt them? Will the cost be worthwhile? Qualitative research can help by studying practice change in context.

A final thought How do we know most of what we know that is useful in our daily lives? Through informal qualitative inquiry Learning by doing in diverse situations Learning from people who tell us and show us Learning from real and vicarious experience Formal qualitative research can help make “knowing how” more explicit and sharable