An Introduction to Critical Management Research

I hold a PhD in applied economics from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest and a DPhil in Management Studies from Oxford University. I came to Keele in 1996 and was promoted to Chair in 2006. I am course director for the MA in Management/International Business and a member of the executive team responsible for the postgraduate provision in the school. Nick′s research interests fall into three main areas:The study of friendships in the workplace, exploring how these relationships are understood and experienced by those who participate in them as well as how organisations understand and manage them. Recently, he has examined the role and meaning of friendship in the lives of gay men, exploring how friendships can provide forms of support and opportunities for constructing identities and selves.Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) sexualities in the workplace. Nick has conducted research on how gay men negotiate professional, sexual and gender identities against a range of organizational contexts including those claiming to be ‘gay-friendly’. Critical management research. Much of this area has focused on how critical theory perspectives seldom used by management researchers (e.g. Queer theory and American Pragmatism) can be applied within the field of organization studies.

′Any form of research becomes a daunting task because of the sheer body of knowledge that one has to test one′s theory against. The good part is that the authors have succinctly brought all these alternative theories together in one book. This saves reseach time and gives an understanding of each theory before it can be tested against research findings...Every researcher must test their knowledge empirically. this book becomes an important part of that quest, and is a foundation before one sets out to theorise their findings.′ Vishal KrishnaBusiness World

• PART ONE: THEORY AND PARADIGMSCritical TheoryAn IntroductionOrganizational Paradigms and Management ResearchPART TWO: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON MANAGEMENTAmerican PragmatismPostmodernismDeconstructionPoststructuralist FeminismQueer TheoryPART THREE: METHODOLOGIES OF MANAGEMENT RESEARCHCritical Perspectives on Quantitative ResearchCritical Perspectives on Qualtitative ResearchPART FOUR: CONSEQUENCES OF MANAGEMENT RESEARCHEthics and Reflexivity