2088: Ethnographic Tales and Tools: Resistance, Risks, and Rewards in Fieldwork (13327)

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

11:30 – 13:00 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

Location: Fairmont: Gold Room

Session Number: 2088
Symposium (panel)
Orientation: Research
Shareable link: https://cdmcd.co/QGdLzA

Panelist(s)

MA

Michel Anteby

Boston U. Questrom School of Business, United States
JC

Jillian Chown

Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, United States
AM

Alexandra Michel

Independent Researcher, United States
MR

Madeleine Stefanie Rauch

Cambridge Judge Business School

Moderator(s)

FG

Farnaz Ghaedipour

Stanford U., United States

Organizer(s)

VC

Vanessa Conzon

Boston College, United States
AH

Audrey Holm

HEC Paris, France
MC

Mara Cable

Boston College, United States
VI

Valerio Iannucci

Boston U. Questrom School of Business, United States

Ethnography has long been recognized as a prominent methodological and analytical approach to studying work and organizations (Van Maanen, 1988). In the last decades, rapidly changing workplaces have led researchers to draw increasingly on in-depth fieldwork to develop thick descriptions and generate novel understandings of organizations (e.g., Frost et al., 1991; Geertz, 1973: 310). As management scholars embrace this “ethnographic turn” in the study of organizations (Rouleau, de Rond, & Musca, 2014), we suggest taking a step back to reflect on the lived experience, merits and challenges associated with ethnography. Specifically, the panel will share their experiences with resistance, risks and rewards inherent to ethnography and reflect on what they and others can learn from these experiences.