The Contest Over Meaning: Hermeneutics as an Interpretive Methodology for Understanding Texts

This article focuses on the methodological and epistemological aspects of hermeneutics, a leading genre of interpretive research. Beginning with a brief overview of the limitations of methodological discussions of hermeneutics in current organizational research, the article first introduces readers to the historical context of hermeneutics and then discusses the major epistemological and methodological concepts and debates that inform contemporary hermeneutics. Next, methodological guidelines for employing hermeneutics in organizational research are proposed. Finally, some conclusions are offered.