Interventionism – an approach for the future?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the distinctive problems of interventionist research that originate from intervention in ongoing practices as opposed to the experiment's design of a theory‐relevant context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is an essay, based on arguments of mapping closely and understanding the work environment of the managers under study, and of re‐framing (or re‐education) practices. Findings – The paper finds that the intervention is valued in terms of improved practice, as well as theoretical contribution. Research limitations/implications – Learning theories (organizational and individual) should be included in the toolbox as well as methods of observing ongoing practices. Practical implications – Interventionist research changes the way organizations think about how they organize their work (the appellate case); learning theory impacts work organization very concretely. Originality/value – Management itself is intervention in organizational work practices, intervention in management practices will be something akin to Argyris et al. 's second loop (or Rorty's abnormal discourse) learning, which can be understood as re‐framing (or re‐education) practices. The use of case narratives and storytelling as ways of data capture are of particular interest in that respect.