Hermeneutic methodology and international management research

• International management research seems to be victim of a identity crisis. It is not clear whatmakes international management different enough to regard it a separate research field. Inthis paper it is argued that this has to do with the tendency in international managementresearch to adopt a methodology akin to the logical-empiricism of the natural sciences (theword ‘methodology is used here to refer to the ontological and epistemological assumptionson which research is based). If the challenges formed by the unique character of the field ofinternational management are thought through radically, this leads to a turn away from thelogical-empiricist model, and towards a methodology which does justice to the fundamentalproblems of bridging distance which are typical for international management. This distancecan be of a geographical, social, political, economic, cultural or linguistic nature. The problemof bridging distances exists for practitioners of international management, as well as forresearchers in this field. Hermeneutics, in which the problem of bridging the distance betweenan interpreting subject and the phenomena to be interpreted is given a central position, isdiscussed as a particularly fruitful methodology for international management research. As anexample, a hermeneutic reading of a number of clinical studies of international joint venturesis presented.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Business studies

Företagsekonomi

Business studies

Företagsekonomi

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