The critical incident technique reappraised

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer a reconceptualization of the critical incident technique (CIT) and affirm its utility in management and organization studies. Design/methodology/approach Utilizing a case study from a leadership context, the paper applies the CIT to explore various leadership behaviours in the context of nonprofit boards in Canada. Semi-structured critical incident interviews were used to collect behavioural data from 53 participants – board chairs, board directors, and executive directors – from 18 diverse nonprofit organizations in Alberta, Canada. Findings While exploiting the benefits of a typicality of events, in some instances the authors were able to validate aspects of transformational leadership theory, in other instances the authors found that theory falls short in explaining the relationships between organizational actors. The authors argue that the CIT potentially offers the kind of “thick description” that is particularly useful in theory building in the field. Research limitations/implications Drawing on interview material, the authors suggest that incidents can be classified based on frequency of occurrence and their salience to organizational actors, and explore the utility of this distinction for broader theory building purposes. Practical implications Principally, the paper proposes that this method of investigation is under-utilized by organization and management researchers. Given the need for thick description in the field, the authors suggest that the approach outlined generates exceptionally rich data that can illuminate multiple organizational phenomena. Social implications The role of nonprofit boards is of major importance for those organizations and the clients that they serve. This paper shed new light on the leadership dynamics at the top of these organizations and therefore can help to guide improved practice by those in board and senior management positions. Originality/value The CIT is a well-established technique. However, it is timely to revisit it as a core technique in qualitative research and promote its greater use by researchers. In addition, the authors offer a novel view of incidents as typical, atypical, prototypical or archetypal of organizational phenomena that extends the analytical value of the approach in new directions.

Dark Side of Leadership in Educational Setting

“…Since then it has been used both in quantitative and qualitative research using a variety of methods (observations, questionnaires, interviews and focus group). According to modern researchers, the technique can be customized to be applied to different research frameworks, suiting research, type, research questions and the relative phenomenon under study [25,27,28].…”

“…The researcher aimed to collect perceptions of teachers about an intriguing incident, which had critical effect on their lives and ways of thinking about school leadership and management practices. The critical incident technique was used to collect data and analyze it as suggested by Bott and Tourish [25].…”

Women’s Transition to Entrepreneurs from Professional and Managerial Careers in Organizations

“…Based on the reliability test, the results obtain a value of 85% in the classification system. Classification system reliability is considered satisfactory if interjudge reliability is equal to or greater than 80% (Bott & Tourish, 2016).…”

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“…A number of scholars extend the critique of transformational leadership beyond its ethical context. For example, Bott and Tourish (2016) report that the supposed benefits of transformational leadership are limited from a practical perspective and Chen, Ning, Yang, Feng, and Yang (2018) report that it may distort organisational performance. Moreover, Chen, Ning, Yang, Feng, and Yang, (2018) report in their study of business in China that establishing a direct causal link between transformational leadership and organisational performance is complicated by the numerous mediating factors that affect employee motivation and skill sets.…”