Qualitative Research in Management: A Decade of Progress

Approximately 10 years ago, Lee et al. reviewed the qualitative methods published during 1979–99 in the major US journals in the organizational sciences. This ten-year follow-up review of 198 qualitative articles assesses the progress made in qualitative research in management by specifically considering: (1) the strength and legitimacy of recent publications that challenge any positivistic stigmatizations of qualitative research; (2) the methodological advances in qualitative methods, including the use and elucidation of novel techniques; and (3) the general contribution of qualitative research to the accumulation of management knowledge. By encompassing both US and European journals in our review, we also compare and contrast the qualitative research published on both sides of the Atlantic, stressing what each can learn from the other. We highlight exemplary articles and procedures and make recommendations for the next decade of qualitative research in management.