Studying innovation processes in real-time: The promises and challenges of ethnography

Hoholm, Thomas and Araujo, Luis (2011) Studying innovation processes in real-time: The promises and challenges of ethnography. Industrial Marketing Management, 40 (6). pp. 933-939. ISSN 0019-8501

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Abstract

This paper discusses the promises and challenges of innovation ethnographies. We depart from the notion that innovation processes are highly contingent, messy and non-linear and examine ways in which these processes have been studied. Our focus is on the challenges posed by the use of ethnographic methods to study innovation in-the-making. Our discussion is illustrated by an example culled from a longitudinal, real-time study of an innovation process in the food industry, inspired by actor-network theory (ANT) and its injunctions to focus on controversies and follow the actors. We conclude that although innovation ethnographies pose plenty of theoretical, methodological and practical challenges, they remain a promising and powerful method to map out the complex and tortuous paths of these processes.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Industrial Marketing Management
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/core/keywords/marketing
Subjects:
?? ethnographyreal-time methodinnovation processes industrial networksmarketingmarketinghb economic theorydiscipline-based research ??
ID Code:
52914
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
13 Mar 2012 10:27
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
29 Feb 2024 00:42