Management Research An Introduction Mark Easterby-Smith Richard Thorpe Andy Lowe© Mark Eastrby-Smith, Richard Thorpe and Andy Lowe 2002 First Published 2002 Reprinted 2002, 2003, 2004 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Olivers Yard, 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pye Ltd B-42 Panchsheel Enclave PO Box 4109 New Dehli 110 017 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 7619 7284 6 ISBN 0 7619 7285 4 (pbk) Typeset By M Rules Printed and bound in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press Led, Trowbridge, WiltshireContents si 8 Acknowledgements ix Preface to the First Edition xi Preface to the Second Edition xiii PARTONE STARTING MANAGEMENT RESEARCH 1 Introduction to Management Research 3 2. The Ingredients of Successful Research 3 PARTTWO DFSIGNING MANAGEMENT RESEARCH 3. The Philosophy of Research Design LE 4 The Politics of Management Research 58 5 Qualitative Methods 85 6 Quantitative Methods 130 7 Finishing and Capitalizing on Research 148 Appendix I: Searching the Literature 159: Appendix II: Academic Societies in Management Appendix III: SSCI Rankings of Management Journals 173 Bibliography 176 Index