Grosse, H (2020) Autoethnographic writing as a strategic tool in a medium-sized construction company: A strategy as practice approach. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 36th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-8 September 2020, Online Event, UK.
Abstract
In this qualitative study, I demonstrate here how autoethnographic writing can be used to develop and refine a construction company’s business strategy. Doing so, I contribute to the debate about practice-relevant research and practitioner research. My research draws in particular on the two different ways researchers and practitioners think – namely problematising and problem-solving. Running my own construction company, I am in a unique position to explore my business environment autoethnographically. That comprises of writing extensive fieldnotes about my experiences and observation as well as reflecting on them. Hence, I can – using the researcher’s thinking – problematise what I see. Yet changing my role, I can use practitioner’s thinking to develop solutions to the problems I have seen. Drawing on the gained insights, I can immediately begin to make changes to the company’s business strategy. Hence, the approach used here is very close to insider action research. Utilising experiences of my business practice, I demonstrate how ethnographic writing – in other words qualitative material – can be used to develop and refine a construction company’s business strategy. Ethnographic research has been employed to develop business strategies in different fields. Various industries showed interest in the insights ethnographic exploration can offer. Yet, it has not been applied to develop business strategies in the field of construction management, although, ethnography is well established in this area of research. Additionally, the using of autoethnographic research in construction management is a further contribution to the efforts to relate research to the construction management practice. Even if my exploration is limited to my unique case, lessons might be transferred to other companies, and it might offer new valuable insights to researchers seeking collaboration with the construction industry and beyond.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | action research; autoethnography; business strategy; practice-relevant research; practitioner research |
| Index terms: | action research, strategy-as-practice, drawing, business strategy, qualitative study, construction company, ethnography, exploration, management practice, collaboration, practitioner, construction industry |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, management, qualitative and interpretive research, environmental resource management, technical documentation, data collection methods, business, organization, research design and methodology, practitioner |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Design Practice, Sustainability, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here