Longitudinal Field Research Methods: Studying Processes of Organizational Change (Organization Science)

Published in cooperation with the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences and its journal Organization Science How do organizations change, develop, grow, or terminate over time? In this volume, editors George P. Huber and Andrew H. Van de Ven focus on longitudinal field research methods for studying organizational change--methods that are fundamental to understanding the dynamics of organizational life and to developing and testing theories of organizational adaptation, change, innovation, and redesign. The chapters focus on the design and conduct of longitudinal research in the field and deal with methods to analyze and interpret process patterns in longitudinal data. The authors, all renowned organizational researchers, emphasize a wide range of methodological issues involved in longitudinal field research, including ethnographic methods, longitudinal and comparative case studies, event history analysis, and real-time tracking of events. They also address various procedures that can be used to tabulate, code, and interpret both quantitative and qualitative data collected in the field. For any scholar or researcher in organization studies, Longitudinal Field Research Methods is an essential resource.

George P. Huber teaches "Organizational Change and Redesign" in the Executive MBA program and "Organizational Decision Making" in the doctoral program at The University of Texas at Austin, where holds the Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Regents Chair in Business Administration. His current research focuses on organizational change, organizational design, and organizational decision making. He has also conducted and published research in the areas of information technology and individual and group decision making. Dr. Huber is a Fellow of the Academy of Management and of the Decision Sciences Institute and is a charter member of the Academy of Management Journals Hall of Fame.

In 1993, his co-edited book, Organizational Change and Redesign: Ideas and Insights for Improving Performance, was published by Oxford University Press, and in 1995 his co-edited book, Longitudinal Field Research Methods: Studying Processes of Organizational Change, was published by Sage Publications.

Dr. Huber has held full time positions with the Emerson Electric Manufacturing Company, the Procter and Gamble Manufacturing Company, the U.S. Department of Labor, Execucom Systems Corporation, and has served as a consultant to many corporations and public agencies. Professor Huber has held full time faculty appointments at the Universities of Wisconsin, California, and Texas.