Organizational ethnography between toolbox and world‐making

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to take account of organizational ethnography in its historical and methodological context, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Journal of Organizational Ethnography . Design/methodology/approach – This essay brings together some current issues and concerns in one form of “marked” ethnography. Findings – This essay touches on the questions: what is organizational ethnography and why is it re‐emerging now?; and on related questions, on its way to engaging some of the key methodological issues in organizational ethnography that today merit attention. Originality/value – The paper may be of value to readers who are interested in the method and in one researcher's conceptual‐methodological take on it.