Abstract
Epistemological, methodological and ethical issues associated with insider/outsider positionality (Merton, 1972) form a burgeoning body of literature with contributions from a range of disciplinary fields and research philosophies. However, a comprehensive review of this literature reveals a lack of concerted attention paid to the effects of insider-outsider dynamics between members of research teams on the research process. This is particularly surprising in relation to international and cross-cultural research in business and management where participation of researchers and/or field assistants as ‘cultural insider’ is recommended for both qualitative and quantitative studies. Addressing this gap, this paper presents outcomes of a reflexive exercise on working in a ‘homecomer’/’stranger’ research team when planning and conducting fieldwork and data analysis for a qualitative study in Kazakhstan. We detail challenges stemming from our positionality experiences and outline recommended strategies for reconciling these tensions in data collection and analysis.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Unknown Host Publication |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| Event | European Conference on Research Methodology for Business Management - Kingston, United Kingdom Duration: 9 Jun 2016 → 10 Jun 2016 |
Conference
| Conference | European Conference on Research Methodology for Business Management |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | Kingston |
| Period | 9/06/16 → 10/06/16 |
Bibliographical note
This paper has been accepted for the 2016 ECRM conference.Keywords
- international business and management research
- insider-outsider positionality
- qualitative research
- collaborative research teams