THE USE OF GROUNDED THEORY FOR THE QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

ABSTRACT Qualitative social research generates large amounts of non‐standard data which make analysis problematic. This discussion advocates the use of grounded theory as a way of handling these problems. The approach is illustrated, in the context of organizational research, by three cases of grounded theoretical analyses: (a) a study of face‐to‐face interaction in a hospital between nurses and patients’ relatives; (b) a field‐study based on the complex organizational interrelationships associated with small batch production manufacturing; and (c) a documentary‐based analysis of the organizational pre‐conditions of large‐scale accidents. The discussion of the cases stresses the manner in which the qualitative data collected were manipulated in order to give them theoretical shape.