Taking a Mixed Role – A Pragmatic Approach to Action Research

Abstract

Research in management needs to contribute to practical relevance and applicability of research results. An approach that acknowledges the needs that emerge from practice and still offers guidance for proper research, is action research. The purpose of this paper is to expand the action research methodology, focusing the researcher’s role. Two consecutive action research projects were reviewed and reflected upon from a literature-based model. The projects were analysed iteratively by two participating researchers with different experiences and backgrounds. The main finding is the outline of the mixed role in action research projects, which allows for performing high quality research in parallel with interventions in the study object organisations. Development of the mixed role concept allows practically oriented research and interventions in research projects to be developed alongside traditional research, which at large can encourage researchers to take part in practical managerial development. The action research methods were successful in the projects, as they provided a fast-track to deep insights in the companies and the ability to act and evaluate results. With the mixed role approach, we could quickly come down to details, expose assumptions, discuss new solutions and come up with more profound research questions. The mixed consultant/researcher role has been a means to keep the research schedule within acceptable limits. Hence, a consciously managed project with in-depth considerations of the mixed role of the researcher can in itself remove one of the main obstacles of action research. The mixed role is a novel concept, pragmatic but still well aligned with prior research. The establishment of the concept can inspire more researchers performing action research.