Leadership and elite interviews

Abstract

The focus of this article is a critical evaluation of constructivist-grounded theory in elite interviews, the methodology used for this research. The research is about the challenges of the EU rail industry integration as seen and told by the involved actors. In particular, the integration process requires leadership in the multi-level governance context of the EU and in the transition from state monopolies to businesses providing services on the integrated market. This provides a potential source of theoretically and practically relevant research questions; and secondly rigorous grounded research methodologies will bring insight that transcends the currently accepted formal and public statements about the phenomena. The work is situated within social constructivist ontology, enacted through a rigorous grounded theory approach to understanding the current challenges of the industry and seeking more effective developments for the future. Preliminary findings place the concepts of leadership and debt into a relationship that could offer profound understanding of certain social relations and contribute to the growth of theory and practice. These findings are also elaborated in this article as reflections on the methodological process.

Four Cultural Narratives for Managing Social-ecological Complexity in Public Natural Resource Management

“…The focus of this research was on organisational cultural narratives to create more effective responses to complexity. Similar research within large public agencies has highlighted the value of the elite interview method for understanding complex organisational change management situations (Schara and Common 2016). Hochschild (2009) notes that fewer focussed interviews with respondents chosen for their detailed knowledge of a subject are likely to yield richer data than other sampling approaches.…”