Re‐inventing or recycling? : Examples of feminist qualitative research informing the management field

Purpose – To provide examples of qualitative research based on feminist epistemological assumptions. Such research re‐invents rather than recycles management theory, producing alternative understandings which speak to the demands of managing post‐corporate workplaces characterised by growing levels of diversity and rapid discontinuous change. Design/methodology/approach – Reports on three feminist qualitative research projects. Describes research processes and outcomes which aim to reflexively attend to diverse voices and researcher and research participant subjectivities. Findings – Provides tangible examples of empirical feminist qualitative research, including discussions of how the research was conducted, the nature of the findings and critical reflections on the extent to which the researchers' feminist epistemological assumptions were enacted. Research limitations/implications – The three research projects discussed have all been conducted within the Australian education sector. Accordingly, future research could focus on providing practical examples of feminist qualitative research approaches in the management field, in different international and industrial/sector contexts. Practical implications – Provides management researchers with three examples of feminist qualitative research covering diverse topics including leadership, mentoring and ethics. Originality/value – While there is a plethora of writing concerned with feminist research generally, there is a dearth of feminist research in the management field specifically. This paper's contribution therefore lies in providing tangible examples of feminist qualitative research in the management field.