title: A Method for Reconciling Subjectivist and Objectivist Assumptions in Management Research

authors: Böhme, Tillmann

subjects: qualitative research

abstract: Application of objectivist methodological assumptions and overreliance on mathematical analysis can cause researchers to oversimplify reality and thereby generate rigorously derived theories and recommendations that lack practitioner relevance. Although mixed-methods approaches to management research have long been heralded, the details remain sparse about how to reconcile apparently disparate approaches. By reflecting on lessons learned over some 15 years of practical experience with a robust mixed-methods approach specifically designed to bridge the academia–practitioner gap, this article demonstrates how inclusion of an interpretive field perspective yields a much more comprehensive picture of the relationship between the organization and its contextual environment. Thus, a key purpose of this article is to stimulate researchers into adopting a more balanced portfolio of research methods that will simultaneously achieve research rigor and generate insightful practitioner-relevant theory.

text: A Method for Reconciling Subjectivist and Objectivist Assumptions in Management Research Application of objectivist methodological assumptions and overreliance on mathematical analysis can cause researchers to oversimplify reality and thereby generate rigorously derived theories and recommendations that lack practitioner relevance. Although mixed-methods approaches to management research have long been heralded, the details remain sparse about how to reconcile apparently disparate approaches. By reflecting on lessons learned over some 15 years of practical experience with a robust mixed-methods approach specifically designed to bridge the academia–practitioner gap, this article demonstrates how inclusion of an interpretive field perspective yields a much more comprehensive picture of the relationship between the organization and its contextual environment. Thus, a key purpose of this article is to stimulate researchers into adopting a more balanced portfolio of research methods that will simultaneously achieve research rigor and generate insightful practitioner-relevant theory.

year: 2012

title: The Caring Face of Business?   The Discursive Construction of the New Zealand Businesses for Social Responsibility (NZ BSR) Organisation.

authors: Allen, Clifford

subjects: Business Social Responsibility

abstract: In 2008 the use of the term Business Social Responsibility (BSR) is now seen, in New Zealand at least, as being old fashioned. The field of BSR has been overwhelmed by the terminology of sustainability. In 1998, however, BSR in NZ was a new, exciting, and controversial development. The progression from BSR to sustainability is often presented as natural and inevitable but this thesis argues that BSR and sustainability in New Zealand arose from different roots and most of the key people who became involved in the NZ BSR organisation did so for reasons that were substantially different from the driving rationale of sustainability. Further, not all of those NZ BSR pioneers consider the current focus on sustainability to be a natural outgrowth of what they were trying to achieve through BSR. 
This thesis applies critical discourse analysis to interview transcripts and archived documents to examine the competing discourses surrounding the formation of the NZ BSR organisation in New Zealand up until the time of its merger to form the Sustainable Business Network. The NZ BSR organisation was seen by some as primarily a reaction to the prevailing hegemony of the ideas of the neo-liberal New Zealand Business Round Table (NZBRT).  The NZ BSR philosophy did not necessarily challenge the neo-liberal inspired reforms of the previous fourteen years but did offer an alternative way for businesses to react to the new environment they found themselves in.

text: The Caring Face of Business?   The Discursive Construction of the New Zealand Businesses for Social Responsibility (NZ BSR) Organisation. In 2008 the use of the term Business Social Responsibility (BSR) is now seen, in New Zealand at least, as being old fashioned. The field of BSR has been overwhelmed by the terminology of sustainability. In 1998, however, BSR in NZ was a new, exciting, and controversial development. The progression from BSR to sustainability is often presented as natural and inevitable but this thesis argues that BSR and sustainability in New Zealand arose from different roots and most of the key people who became involved in the NZ BSR organisation did so for reasons that were substantially different from the driving rationale of sustainability. Further, not all of those NZ BSR pioneers consider the current focus on sustainability to be a natural outgrowth of what they were trying to achieve through BSR. 
This thesis applies critical discourse analysis to interview transcripts and archived documents to examine the competing discourses surrounding the formation of the NZ BSR organisation in New Zealand up until the time of its merger to form the Sustainable Business Network. The NZ BSR organisation was seen by some as primarily a reaction to the prevailing hegemony of the ideas of the neo-liberal New Zealand Business Round Table (NZBRT).  The NZ BSR philosophy did not necessarily challenge the neo-liberal inspired reforms of the previous fourteen years but did offer an alternative way for businesses to react to the new environment they found themselves in.

year: 2009

title: DrownBaseTM – Identifying at risk factors: Strategies and issues around Māori practices and activities towards water safety

authors: Karapu, Rolinda

subjects: Maori

abstract: Aotearoa has some of the most extensive and beautiful waterways in the world. The seas, rivers, beaches, and lakes provide endless opportunities for Māori to enjoy water activities, such as gathering kai, swimming, hoe waka, diving and fishing (Haimona & Takurua, 2003). For Māori, water is one of the greatest taonga (treasures) of this land – both physically and spiritually. Māori have always been acknowledged as possessing expertise in swimming and aquatic activities pre-European times (Haimona & Takurua, 2003). Early writers such as Best (1976) wrote extensively about Māori games and pastimes while in, on or near the water. These early descriptions illustrate the practice that Māori children were taught to swim at a very early age. The gathering of seafood and the consistent use of waterways as a mode of transport were also customary activities for Māori. The traditional beliefs and practices of Māori, demonstrate a great awareness and understanding of water, its dangers and its life-giving properties.

text: DrownBaseTM – Identifying at risk factors: Strategies and issues around Māori practices and activities towards water safety Aotearoa has some of the most extensive and beautiful waterways in the world. The seas, rivers, beaches, and lakes provide endless opportunities for Māori to enjoy water activities, such as gathering kai, swimming, hoe waka, diving and fishing (Haimona & Takurua, 2003). For Māori, water is one of the greatest taonga (treasures) of this land – both physically and spiritually. Māori have always been acknowledged as possessing expertise in swimming and aquatic activities pre-European times (Haimona & Takurua, 2003). Early writers such as Best (1976) wrote extensively about Māori games and pastimes while in, on or near the water. These early descriptions illustrate the practice that Māori children were taught to swim at a very early age. The gathering of seafood and the consistent use of waterways as a mode of transport were also customary activities for Māori. The traditional beliefs and practices of Māori, demonstrate a great awareness and understanding of water, its dangers and its life-giving properties.

year: 2008