Using Grounded Theory in the Organisations and Management Field: The Flexibility of Interweaving the Strands

Hosanoo, Zuberia; Doargajudhur, Melina

Abstract

This case is developed for early career researchers and reflects on the inductive grounded theory journey for the fulfillment of the author’s Doctor of Philosophy. Novice researchers, such as PhD students can feel overwhelmed by the apparent complexity of the Grounded Theory (GT) methodology, which has three main strands stemming from different philosophical stances. The continuous inner debates on when and the extent to which to engage with the existing literature is daunting. Researchers employing the GT method face the issue of when to get in touch with the scholarship, and what is the minimal accurate knowledge needed prior to the start of a study. Drawing on the author’s experience using GT, the aim is achieved by exploring the three main variants of the methodology and stressing on how the author positioned herself regarding the encounter with the literature and mixing the strands. This chapter case study further clarifies the doubts on the role of the literature in a grounded theory research to provide novice researchers, with some practical advice, on the usefulness of the review of the literature in a grounded theory. This chapter case study unveils how having an initial knowledge promotes the reflexivity of a grounded theorist, which increases the validity of the results of the GT research. I further detail three-staged coding process of open, axial and selective - followed to develop a theoretical framework on the core categories of web of ties, while stressing on the limitations of using qualitative data analysis software.

Citation

Hosanoo, Z., & Doargajudhur, M. (2025). Using Grounded Theory in the Organisations and Management Field: The Flexibility of Interweaving the Strands. In Sage Research Methods: Data and Research Literacy Cases. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781036216375

• Online Publication Date: Jun 11, 2025
• Publication Date: 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 26, 2025
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: Sage Research Methods: Data and Research Literacy Cases
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781036216375
• Contract Date: Apr 1, 2025