Organizational Ethnography: An Experiential and Practical Guide

This textbook explores practices, first-hand experiences and emerging ideas within organizational ethnography, providing a toolkit that prepares ethnographers for the uncertainties and realities of fieldworking.

Students faced with the complexities of qualitative observational techniques and considerations, such as the scope of the research, the personal and professional intertwined life of the qualitative research or the decision of when to leave the field, will find the book an extremely useful, practical guide. A range of experiences from a variety of academics at different stages of their career, to highlight the differences in practices, approaches and encounters, are presented. The themes of the individual chapters cover three main areas: aspects to consider and reflect on before undertaking an ethnography, the process and experiences of conducting ethnographic work and considerations for after the fieldwork. Particular attention is given to appreciating the complexity and practicalities of ethnographic work, providing a more experience-driven text, and understanding perspectives from a range of different approaches to organizational ethnography.

This book should be a recommended text for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying research methods within Business and Management. It is particularly important for all students and academics undertaking qualitative research, especially ethnography.

Jenna Pandeli is a senior lecturer at University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, UK.

Neil Sutherland is a senior lecturer at UWE, Bristol, UK.

Hugo Gaggiotti is a professor at UWE, Bristol, UK.