1Empirical challenges in organizational aesthetics research: towards a sensual methodology Abstract Despite growing scholarly interest in aesthetic dimensions of organizational life, there is a lack of literature expressly engaging with the methodological mechanics of 'doing aesthetics research'. This article addresses that gap. It begins with an overview of the conceptual idiosyncrasies of 'aesthetics' as a facet of human existence and maps out the challenges these pose for empirical research methodology. A review of methodological approaches adopted to date in empirical studies of organizational aesthetics is then presented. The remainder of the article draws on the author's experiences and suggests methods and techniques to address both conceptual and practical challenges encountered during the execution of an organizational aesthetics research project. The article calls for a firmer focus on the aesthetic experiences of organizational members in addition to those of researchers and concludes with some suggestions as to the future of such 'sensual methodologies' Keywords BiographySamantha lives on the south coast of England with her husband and two sons and is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Management at the University of Surrey where she teaches research methods and organizational behaviour. Her current research interests include organizational aesthetics, processes of material and cultural aestheticization, visual research methods and artsbased management initiatives. She is an executive board member of SCOS, a member of the editorial collective of the journal ephemera: theory and politics in organizations and has guest edited special issues of Consumption, Markets and Culture and the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal.Word count 8,862

Purpose -The main objective of this paper is to discuss how photography might help give research participants a louder voice in (qualitative) critical accounting and management research, enabling their multiple voices to be better represented/performed through the technique of "native image making". A secondary aim is to familiarise the reader with key developments and debates in the field of "visual research" more generally. Design/methodology/approach -A brief overview of the field is offered, and, drawing on examples from the author's visual research practice, how the concept of "photo-voice" might increase participants' involvement in research in two ways is discussed. Findings -First, it is argued that accessibility of the method, control of the research agenda and ownership of the images give a louder voice in the process of research. Second, and following Barthes, it is contended that through their iconic and quasi-representational nature, photographic images can communicate participants' views of their worlds with more primacy than language alone, raising their voices in the dissemination of research. Practical implications -The paper has especial implications for researchers engaged in critical studies of accounting and management seeking to give voice to marginal groups of people traditionally disregarded by mainstream organization/management studies. Originality/value -The paper contributes to the development of a novel qualitative methodology for accounting and management research.

In this article, we examine the dynamics of trust in the triadic relationship between HR, employees and managers when dealing with allegations of workplace bullying. Previous research has shown employees to be dissatisfied with HR practitioners' responses to complaints of workplace bullying, and we explore the novel angle of the HR practitioners' perspective through semistructured interviews. Paralleling extant employee accounts, the findings suggest that HR practitioners rarely judge situations as bullying where a manager is accused. Trust between employee, manager and HR practitioner is essential for the successful resolution of bullying claims, yet this study suggests multiple directions of distrust. By virtue of their role alignment and previous experiences of handling bullying, HR practitioners were found to prioritise their relationships with managers, automatically distrusting employees' bullying claims. Despite also distrusting managers to effectively deliver HRM practices, it appears that bullying complaints are ‘too hot to handle’ for HR practitioners given the risks to their relationships with managers.

As its central objective, this study explores the intersection of professional values and career roles in accountants' presentations of their professional identity, in the face of enduring stereotyping of the accounting role. Design/methodology/approach This study presents a qualitative investigation of accountants' construction of their professional identities and imagery using a Goffmanian dramaturgical perspective. Viewing professional identity construction as a presentational matter of impression management, the investigation employs a reflexive photo-interviewing methodology. Findings Accountants use a variety of workplace dramatization, idealization and mystification strategies inside and outside the workplace to counter the traditional accounting stereotype. They also attempt to develop a professional identity that is a subset of their overall life values.

This paper contributes to a sensory equilibrium in studies of workplace life through a qualitative study of everyday smells in UK offices. Drawing on Csordas' (2008) phenomenology of intercorporeality, we develop the concept of corporeal porosity as a way of articulating the negotiation of bodily integrity in organisational experience. We explore the olfactory dimensions of workplace life through smell-orientated interview and diary-based methods and our findings highlight the interdependence of shared, personal, local, and cultural elementals when experiencing smell in office-based work. Our analysis highlights three elements of bodily integrity: 'cultural permeability'; 'locating smell in-between'; and 'sensual signifiers'. This suggests that whilst the senses are part of the ephemeral, affective 'glue' that floats between and around working bodies, they also foreground the constantly active character of relationality in organisational life as an entanglement of embodied traces and fragments-corporeal seeping and secretion that has hitherto taken a backseat in organisational studies of the body at work.