This innovative Handbook demonstrates that there is no single best approach to conducting longitudinal studies. At their best, longitudinal research designs yield rich, contextualised, multilevel and deep understanding of the studied phenomenon. The lack of resources in terms of time, funding and people can pose a serious challenge to conducting longitudinal research. This book tackles many of these challenges and discusses the role of longitudinal research programmes in overcoming such obstacles. This book shows how longitudinal research methods enable the understanding of dynamics, mechanisms, causalities and interrelationships of organizational and business concepts in context and in relation to time. It discusses the richness and versatility of longitudinal research and offers, to students and experienced scholars alike, numerous viewpoints, reflections and personal accounts about conducting longitudinal research, from planning and fieldwork to reporting and managing of research projects.
Contents: 1. Longitudinal Research in Organizations: An Introduction Melanie E. Hassett and Eriikka Paavilainen-Mantymaki Vignette: Nonresponse in Longitudinal Research: Charting the Terrain Toon W. Taris PART I: LONGITUDITNAL RESEARCH AS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH 2. Using Quantitative Longitudinal Data to Analyse the Relationship between Firm's Internationalization and Performance Michael-Jorg Oesterle and Hannah N. Richta 3. Planned Missing Data Designs for Longitudinal Organizational Research Mijke Rhemtulla and Todd D. Little 4. Temporal Design in Organizational Research James P. Selig, Robert Hoy and Todd D. Little PART II: LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH AS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 5. Studying Strategy Over Time through the Identification of Patterns of Actions: An Illustrative Case Study of the Strategies of Alcan and Alcoa from 1928 to 2007 Yves Ploudre 6. Longitudinal Autoethnography Paivi Eriksson 7. Narratives as Longitudinal and Process Data Eriikka Paavilainen-Mantymaki and Leena Aarikka-Stenroos PART III: LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH AS PROCESS RESEARCH 8. In Search of Generative Mechanism: The Grounded Theory Approach to Process Theory Building Zsuzsanna Vincze 9. Challenges of Longitudinal Field Research in Process Studies on Business Networks Aino Halinen and Tuija Mainela 10. Temporal Issues in Process Research Carlo Mari and Olimpia Meglio 11. How to Escape an Unprocessual Legacy? A Viewpoint from International Business Research Eriikka Paavilainen-Mantymaki and Catherine Welch 12. The Use of Time in the Design, Conduct and Write-up of Longitudinal Processual Case Study Research Patrick Dawson PART IV: CONDUCTING LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH 13. Dealing with Unpredictability and Change in Longitudinal Studies of Organizations: A Priori versus Progressive Focusing Approach Eva A. Alfoldi and Melanie E. Hassett 14. Planning Data Collection in Longitudinal Field Research: Small and not so Small Practical Issues Carlo Mari and Olimpia Meglio 15. Organizing and Executing a Longitudinally Based Research Program Michael A. Sartor Index.
