Critical Management Research – Reflections from the Field

Abstract

The emergence of Critical Management Studies (CMS) reflects a growing body of scholars within the management research community who are recognised for their philosophical or theoretical work, as well as undertaking empirical research. The majority of published texts on research methods do not focus particularly on critical managementresearch, or if they do, they focus more on paradigms and perspectives rather than processes or practices ‘in the field’ and thus their reflections are often one stage removed from empirical work or lack reference to recent empirical experience. Furthermore, with the exception of feminist research within this critical community, CMS typically fails to demonstrate its reflexivity and ethical consideration in its empirical work(either leaving it implicit or absent), despite theoretical discussions within the community arguing for the same. Accordingly, the book is not just another methods book. Rather, it focuses on contemporary accounts of those engaged in fieldwork and managing the challenges in fieldwork (including the analysis and presentation of findings) when undertaking management research. It would aim to give contemporary accounts of undertaking research, and focus on the practical realities of the research process and how challenges faced can be negotiated. It focuses particularly on the challenges faced by ‘critical’ researchers in negotiating the tensions between giving voice, protecting identity, saying something meaningful and making a difference to people’s working lives.In doing so, it explores all aspects of the research process, including the development of the research question, data collection, ethical issues, analysis, and writing up the findings. It also explores the research process from an individual perspective (the default assumption of many texts on research methodology) and as part of a collaborative endeavour. This includes reflections on the nature and politics of working relationships, the dilemmas faced and ways of negotiating issues that arise.