In Management Research the authors provide a stimulating and critical overview of the key theoretical debates on research paradigms and methodologies, demystifying the process and providing invaluable insights into the politics and practice of research.

Conceived by Chris Grey as an antidote to conventional textbooks, each book in the 'Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap' series takes a core area of the curriculum and turns it on its head by providing a critical and sophisticated overview of the key issues and debates in an informal, conversational and often humorous way.

Suitable for students carrying out Undergraduate and Postgraduate dissertations, MBA projects and PHD theses.

About the Author
Emma Bell is Professor of Organisation Studies at the Open University. Her research explores culture and materiality in organizations using qualitative methods of inquiry. She is the author of: Business Research Methods (2018 with Alan Bryman and Bill Harley), A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Management Research (2013 with Richard Thorpe) and Reading Management and Organization in Film (2008). She is co-editor of The Organisation of Craft Work: Identities, Meanings and Materiality (2018), Major Works in Qualitative Research in Business and Management (2015) and The Routledge Companion to Visual Organization (2014). Emma's research has been published in journals including Organization Studies, Human Relations, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Organization and British Journal of Management. She completed her PhD at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2000 based on an ethnographic study of payment systems and time in the chemical industry. Richard Thorpe is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Leeds where he was latterly Professor of Management Development and Pro Dean for Research at Leeds University Business School. His early industrial experience informed the way his ethos has developed. Common themes are a strong commitment to process methodologies and a focus on action in all its forms; an interest in and commitment to the development of doctoral students and the development of capacity within the sector; and a commitment to collaborative working on projects of mutual interest. Following a number of years in industry, he joined Strathclyde University as a researcher studying incentive payment schemes. This led to collaboration on Payment Schemes and Productivity (Macmillan, 1986). In 1980 he joined Glasgow University where he widened his research interests to include small firm growth and development as well as making regular contributions to the Scottish Business School's doctoral programme. In 1983 he attended the International Teachers' Programme in Sweden where he met Mark and embarked on a PhD under Mark's supervision. Collaboration continued through the 1990s with the ESRC Teaching Fellowship Scheme. In 1996 he was instrumental in establishing the Graduate Business School at Manchester Metropolitan University and in 2003 joined the ESRC Training and Development Board. There, he was involved in establishing the training guidelines for both doctorate and professional doctorate provision and more recently in initiatives to address capacity building in management and business. In 2003 he contributed to the ESRC's Evolution of Business Knowledge programme. His research interests have included: performance, remuneration and entrepreneurship, management learning and development and leadership, and he has published (with others) a number of books including: Remuneration Systems (Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2000); Management and Language: The Manager as Practical Author (Sage, 2003); The SAGE Dictionary of Qualitative Management Research (Sage, 2008); Performance Management: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (Palgrave, 2008); Gower Handbook of Leadership and Management Development (Gower, 2010) ) and more recently, two research methods books, Management Research, in the Sage 'A very Short, Fairly Interesting and reasonably Cheap Book About' series and A Guide to Professional Doctorates in Business and Management (Sage, 2015). He was a past Present of the British Academy of Management in 2007, Dean of Fellows in 2012 and in 2009-2015 he was Chair of the Society for the Advancement of Management Studies. In this latter role he initiated the ESRC/SAMS/UKCES Management and Business Fellowship Scheme.

Reviews
[T]his is more a book about how to think about management research than a book on how to do management research per se: and this is very much its strength. This process is conveyed in the following ways: first, the book emphasises the messiness of the research process and gives licence not to know all the answers and to be puzzled and confused at times. Second, Emma and Richard (as they describe themselves in the text) provide honest accounts and interesting vignettes of their own research experiences and dilemmas and, as such, position themselves not (just) as experts within the field but also, through their 'warts and all' accounts, as researchers who have hunches but are not always sure how to research them, who have highs and lows in the research process and who have sometimes taken wrong turns along the way. Third, the book poses some fundamental questions, which urge the researcher to step back, consider options and debate possibilities before acting in order to better understand the nature of choices they make and the implications for the research that this produces. -- Sarah Robinson
Who knew that Management Research could be this much fun? The authors cover a lot of important ground without appearing to, keeping the reader engaged and in good humour throughout. -- Brad Jackson
A wonderfully clear, engaging, and fun book to read. An invaluable introduction to management research and one that I shall be using with my students for years to come. -- Albert Mills
By providing a lively and accessible introduction to management research - which is theoretically informed and methodologically inclusive - Bell and Thorpe's timely text offers illuminating responses to a wide range of issues raised by students entering this field. -- Hugh Willmott
Among the weighty tomes on management research methods, this lively, elegant and readable guide is welcome indeed. Emma and Richard carry their deep knowledge of the field lightly, distilling complex debates and terminology into a lucid navigation of the key issues in management research. It should be on every graduate student's bookshelf - and probably on their supervisors as well. -- Amanda Sinclair

[A] colourful, engaging and challenging discussion regarding the tenets and process of management research.

-- Dr Orna O'Brien



Book Information
ISBN 9781446201626
Author Emma Bell
Format Paperback
Page Count 160
Imprint Sage Publications Ltd
Publisher Sage Publications Ltd
Weight(grams) 180g