TY - JOUR

T1 - Supplementing Q-method with narratives

T2 - Contextualizing CEOs' values for family firms

AU - Pötschke, Ivonne

N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2018.

PY - 2021/3

Y1 - 2021/3

N2 - Values in family firms are influenced by the complex interplay of family and business. Thus, research requires methods that grasp this complexity. This paper presents a fresh methodological approach for family business research with the example of an in-depth analysis of CEOs' value orientations. Benefits of an integrated use of two qualitative methods - Q-sorts and narrative interviews - which were collected and analyzed for 16 CEOs of family firms are illustrated. Q-method was used to build value patterns, whereas narrative interviews were conducted to reveal how values were contextualized and interpreted. This integrated approach builds qualitative richness in different ways: first, by allowing for a deep understanding of individual experience; second, by providing more contextual insight, and third, by capturing the meaning of abstract values. The approach advanced here can be reproduced for other complex organizational dynamics. Thus, this user-friendly approach is particularly suited for organizational research in a managerial environment.

AB - Values in family firms are influenced by the complex interplay of family and business. Thus, research requires methods that grasp this complexity. This paper presents a fresh methodological approach for family business research with the example of an in-depth analysis of CEOs' value orientations. Benefits of an integrated use of two qualitative methods - Q-sorts and narrative interviews - which were collected and analyzed for 16 CEOs of family firms are illustrated. Q-method was used to build value patterns, whereas narrative interviews were conducted to reveal how values were contextualized and interpreted. This integrated approach builds qualitative richness in different ways: first, by allowing for a deep understanding of individual experience; second, by providing more contextual insight, and third, by capturing the meaning of abstract values. The approach advanced here can be reproduced for other complex organizational dynamics. Thus, this user-friendly approach is particularly suited for organizational research in a managerial environment.

KW - entrepreneurship

KW - qualitative methods

KW - research methods

KW - small- and medium-sized enterprises

KW - values

KW - Management studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052938462&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1017/jmo.2018.46

DO - 10.1017/jmo.2018.46

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85052938462

VL - 27

SP - 270

EP - 294

JO - Journal of Management and Organization

JF - Journal of Management and Organization

SN - 1833-3672

IS - 2

M1 - 46

ER -