Simplified Structure Laying Technique : A Motivating Interview Technique

This article presents an interview technique adjusted for use within a firm's environment. The Structure Laying Technique (Flick, 2009) is a powerful form of a problem-centered interview, most appropriate for revealing the implicit theories held by interviewees. The issue is that this method requires long interview sessions and – in its pure form – two meetings within two weeks. Thus, it is difficult to apply within a firm for research on the cognition of employees. To overcome this problem, I have simplified the Structure Laying Technique so that the interviewee needs to be available only once for one hour. This article presents theoretical background to the method, the simplifications I have introduced, and experience indicating its validity