Research in organizations: towards an ethnographic approach

Abstract

Since the 1980´s an insertion of anthropology has been occuring in diverse scientific fields. The anthropological approach and the "anthropological regard" have been used by different areas, including organizational studies. This utilization of the anthropological perspective is associated with the use of ethnography, a research methodology originated in anthropology through intensive investigations in "primitive" societies. The utilization of ethnography can make the knowledge of the organizational reality widen. It can complement the studies conducted through other research methodologies. On the other hand, it can trivialize ethnography. This methodology can be seen merely as a research technique, out of the scientific context in which it has been originated and exhaustively debated. This article intends to encourage the utilization of ethnography in organizational research. At first, it makes a literature review of both classic and contemporaneous discussions concerning the ethnographic practice in anthropology. Afterwards, it presents a synthesis, which discusses a list of aspects that should be considered when realizing organizational researches through ethnographic approach. Keywords: Anthropology; ethnography; research methodology; organizational studies