The underpinning intellectual rationale of this book, which was outlined in the previous chapters, is linked to different ways of thinking and researching not only in terms of theory and content, but also through specific research methods and alternative ways of presenting and publishing academic work. I believe that this is how we can challenge the status quo in terms of style, format and content of our research; how we can form critical perspectives on the ways we relate to each other and other lifeworlds; and how we can become activists and catalysts for change, in the manner we recognize and inhabit spaces, to expose marginalized experiences in and of organizations. Indeed, Rhodes (2019, 34) reflects on ‘scriptologies’ as political acts. Through a human-focused mind frame, relevant epistemologies and methods, we can embody and transfer on paper emancipatory impulses, communicate experiences that are politically engaged and stress emotional upheaval. This allows us to question, challenge and change the traditional, patriarchal, ‘objective’ and desensitized way of writing in and of organizations (Boncori and Smith, 2019). In terms of research paradigms, critical or interpretive approaches are the most suitable to investigations that favour subjective, qualitative studies of sense-making for individuals, communities and cultures (for more information see Bell and Thorpe, 2013; Bryman, Bell and Harley, 2019).

Qualitative approaches

Edward Sapir argued that the ‘true locus of culture is in the interactions of specific individuals, and, on the subjective side, in the world of meanings which each one of these individuals may unconsciously abstract for himself from his participation in these interactions’ (Sapir, 1961, 151). Researching and writing differently often revolves around these personal interactions and experiences that bring together the affective, embodied and cognitive aspects of life. This points us firmly towards specific ontological and epistemological positions. By ontology I mean the approach taken to the understanding of being and becoming, and how things or people relate to each other; while epistemology is about the nature of knowledge and how we go about knowing and making sense of phenomena. These positions or stances taken by researchers in terms of ontology and epistemology are quite fundamental and underpin everything else in their inquiries, cascading down to inform the choice of methodology and methods in one’s research.