Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a piece of empirical work that investigates the current role and status of qualitative research within the management field. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on 45 in‐depth qualitative interviews with members of a range...

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to introduce the themed issue about qualitative research in the business and management field Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers some issues about how to define the term “qualitative research”, and then introduces each of the papers in...

Many companies have found that the presumed benefits of organizational change initiatives, such as TQM or team working, have not been forthcoming because managers have failed to support those developments through the simultaneous adaptation of the company’s performance evaluation and control...

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to outline the development of academic research in the discipline of accounting, paying particular attention to the important contribution made by qualitative research projects. Design/methodology/approach – Provision of a historical trajectory based on...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the methodological limitations of existing dominant research paradigms in entrepreneurship research. In order to encourage the use of little used methodologies to create higher quality data, an alternative approach is proposed whereby data...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the qualitative synthesis and use of existing management research to inform management practice. Design/methodology/approach – Three methods of qualitative synthesis, each with contrasting methodologies, are presented and their potential...

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of management support in a lean implementation. The impact the lean implementation made on communication within the organization is also examined. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative methods were used to study the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the understanding that can be gained about employees' use of voice as a response to organisational change using qualitative research and, in particular, narrative analysis. Narrative analysis of voice can provide insight into why voice is used...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply grounded theory methodology to report on an empirical case which develops emergent theories on the human complexities of managerial decision‐making and the synonymous task of managing. Design/methodology/approach – A structured research...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to summarise the findings of a qualitative cross‐cultural study of participation in managerial decision making. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper theme‐focused interviews were conducted with middle managers in five European countries and...