Understanding historical methods in organizational studies: JoAnne Yates jyates@mit.edu

The big picture: How does history fit in to organization studies? On surface, seems most similar to qualitative work but Differences in expectations for qualitative and historical study of organizations Sampling, access, and methods Evidence: Varieties and preferences Temporality Confidentiality Publication genres Genre norms for articles

Sampling, access, and methods Qualitative Sampling Often case study (possibly comparative) Theoretical Sampling Access: Open-ended access to people & site are critical to case choice Methods: Explicit, may use qualitative analysis software (discussed in paper with canonical references) Historical Sampling Often case study (possibly comparative) Sampling on historically significant phenomena Access: Survival of and access to documents critical to case choice Methods: Typically more implicit (not discussed in paper)

Evidence: Varieties and preferences Qualitative Evidence: Interviews, observation, images, numbers, documents Preference for spoken and observed over written Distrust of written because of assumed CYA motives Historical Evidence: Documents, numbers, images, artifacts, interviews if possible Preference for written at the time over spoken Distrust of oral because of assumed retrospective bias

Temporality Qualitative Historical Cross sectional dominates situation at particular moment Nouns, concepts, categories, boxes Longitudinal more rare Typically months to few years May reflect perspective of Past—period preceding time of study Future Always reflects perspective of Present—current time Historical Longitudinal dominates Change over time Typically decades to centuries Verbs, actors and actions Cross sectional virtually absent Always reflects perspective of Pasts—multiple pasts, including period preceding time of study and time of study Present—how we view it today May reflect perspective of Future

Confidentiality Qualitative Historical Organization often disguised Makes it seem more generalizable Often necessary to gain access to organization and to publish Individuals always disguised unless public figures IRBs often require disguise Historical Organization never disguised Historical embeddedness more important than generalizability If organizational permission required and not given, no publication results Individuals almost never disguised More problematic for recent history

Primary scholarly publication genres Qualitative Journal articles (and, rarely, books) Desirable attributes Answers theoretical puzzle or fills theoretical gap Sharp theorizing Satisfying explanations Rebuttal of alternative explanations Historical Books (and, to lesser extent, journal articles) Desirable attributes Answers question or explains puzzle New historical material Meaningful, insightful interpretation Well-written reconstruction

Scholarly genre norms for articles Qualitative Introduction previewing findings and contributions Theory section Site and methods section—very explicit with canonical references Findings (organized by interpretation) Discussion—links to existing theory, building contribution Conclusion typically focusing on theory, noting limitations Historical Introduction previewing theme/interpretation Literature review in introduction and footnotes No methods section Body organized by chronology & interpretation Conclusion typically focusing on interpretation of phenomenon, possibly subsequent developments

Recommendations for Org Scholars Historians Include documentary availability in assessing access Triangulate documents with oral, observational sources Take advantage of perspective from future with historical data Value book as genre of publication for historical and ethnographic work Allows elaboration of complex details and interactions Allows support of theory with adequate evidence Historians Make methods explicit and consider access for interviews Triangulate interviews, observations with documents Reflect future perspective Consider confidentiality needs When writing articles for management journals Frame as theoretical or empirical Make methods explicit Provide theory section Focus on theoretical contribution