Use of Photography in Organizational Research: Legitimacy and Potential
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Henrique Muzzio
Abstract
Objective: to discuss the use of the photographic method to produce evidence in organizational research and contribute to the debate so that the method achieves greater legitimacy from the nuances that delimit the organizational field. Proposal: present characteristics, approaches of the photographic method, limitations, and possibilities of its application as a means of producing evidence in organizational research with rigor, relevance, accuracy, and impact, discussing practical aspects of photographic analysis and the dilemmas that accompany the researcher in its use. Examples of reflections helpful to researchers when using photographic analysis are also presented. Conclusions: given the restricted use of photography in organizational research, the reduced scope of articles published with photographic analysis, and the potential that the method has to produce evidence, the essay encourages actors in the field to expand the use of photography. Moreover, the article discusses how photography can achieve more significant space among researchers, editors, reviewers, and readers. Given the broad theoretical and methodological scope in which photography can be applied and the contemporary technological facilities, overcoming this reduced use is more related to the need for greater legitimacy of photography by peers than the specifics of the method.
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How to Cite
Muzzio, H. (2022). Use of Photography in Organizational Research: Legitimacy and Potential. Journal of Contemporary Administration, 27(1), e220012. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-7849rac2022220012.en
Section
Methodological Articles
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References
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Byrne, Z. S., Cave, K. A., & Raymer, S. D. (2021). Using a generalizable photo-coding methodology for assessing organizational culture artifacts. Journal of Business and Psychololy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-021-09773-0
Cassell, C., Radcliffe, L., & Malik, F. (2020). Participant reflexivity in organizational research design. Organizational Research Methods, 23(4), 750–773. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428119842640
Davison, J., McLean, C., & Warren, S. (2012). Exploring the visual in organizations and management. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 7(1), 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465641211223528
Dimaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095101
Farquhar, J., Michels, N., & Robson J. (2020). Triangulation in industrial qualitative case study research: Widening the scope. Industrial Marketing Management, 87, 160–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.02.001
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Hultin, L. (2019). On becoming a sociomaterial researcher: Exploring epistemological practices grounded in a relational, performative ontology. Information and Organization, 29(2), 91-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2019.04.004
Laroche, H. (2020). Observation as photography: A metaphor. M@n@gement, 23(3), 79–99. https://doi.org/10.37725/mgmt.v23i3.5513
Li, E. P. H., Prasad, A., Smith, C., Gutierrez, A., Lewis, E. & Brown, B. (2019). Visualizing community pride: Engaging community through photo and video-voice methods. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 14(4), 377–392. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-03-2018-1621
Machin, J. E., Moscato, E., & Dadzie, C. (2021). Visualizing food: Photography as a design thinking tool to generate innovative food experiences that improve food well-being. European Journal of Marketing, 55(9), 2515–2537. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2020-0141
Meyer, R. E., Höllerer, M. A., Jancsary, D., & van Leeuwen, T. (2013). The visual dimension in organizing, organization, and organization research: Core ideas, current developments, and promising avenues. The Academy of Management Annals, 7(1), 489–555. https://doi.org/10.1080/19416520.2013.781867
Moravcsik, A. (2014). Transparency: The revolution in qualitative research. PS: Political Science & Politics, 47(1), 48-53. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096513001789
Morse, J. M., Barrett, M., Mayan, M., Olson, K., & Spiers, J. (2002). Verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1(2), 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690200100202
Muzzio, H. (2021). Cidades criativas da UNESCO: Registros de design e artesanato em capitais do Nordeste. Farol – Revista de Estudos Organizacionais e Sociedade, 8(21), 263–289. https://doi.org/10.25113/farol.v8i21.6680
Nunkoosing, K. (2005). The problems with interviews. Qualitative Health Research, 15(5), 698–706. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732304273903
Pain, H. (2012). A literature review to evaluate the choice and use of visual methods. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 11(4), 303–319. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691201100401
Prins, E. (2010). Participatory photography: A tool for empowerment or surveillance? Action Research, 8(4), 426–443. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750310374502
Pullman, M. E., & Robson, S. K. A. (2007). Visual methods: Using photographs to capture customers’ experience with design. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 48(2), 121–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010880407300410
Ray, J. L., & Smith, A. D. (2012). Using photographs to research organizations: Evidence, considerations, and application in a field study. Organizational Research Methods, 2(15), 288–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428111431110
Shortt, H. (2012). Identityscapes of a hair salon: Work identities and the value of visual methods. Sociological Research Online, 17(2), 22. Retrieved from http://www.socresonline.org.uk/17/2/22.html
Shortt, H. (2015). Liminality, space and the importance of ‘transitory dwelling places’ at work. Human Relations, 68(4), 633–658. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726714536938
Shortt, H. L., & Warren, S. K. (2019). Grounded visual pattern analysis: Photographs in organizational field studies. Organizational Research Methods, 22(2), 539–563. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428117742495
Skjælaaen, G. R., Bygdås, A. L., & Hagen, A. L. (2020). Visual inquiry: Exploring embodied organizational practices by collaborative film-elicitation. Journal of Management Inquiry, 29(1), 59–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492618778138
Soares, J. S., & Storm, B. C. (2022). Exploring functions of and recollections with photos in the age of smartphone cameras. Memory Studies, 15(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/17506980211044712
Sølvberg, L. M., & Jarness, V. (2019). Assessing contradictions: Methodological challenges when mapping symbolic boundaries. Cultural Sociology, 13(2), 178–197. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749975518819907
Steyaert, C., Marti, L., & Michels, C. (2012). Multiplicity and reflexivity in organizational research: Towards a performative approach to the visual. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 7(1), 34–53. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465641211223456
Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. The Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610. https://doi.org/10.2307/258788
Thomas, L. D. W., & Ritala, P. (2022). Ecosystem legitimacy emergence: A collective action view. Journal of Management, 48(3), 515–541. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320986617
Vicente-Saez, R., & Martinez-Fuentes, C. (2018). Open Science now: A systematic literature review for an integrated definition. Journal of Business Research, 88, 428–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.12.043
Walker, G., Osbahr, H., & Cardey, S. (2021). Thematic collages in participatory photography: A process for understanding the adoption of zero budget natural farming in India. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920980956
Warren, S. (2005). Photography and voice in critical qualitative management research. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 18(6), 861–882. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570510627748
Williams, P., McDonald, P., & Mayes, R. (2021) The impact of disruptive innovation on creative workers: The case of photographers. Creative Industries Journal, 14:2, 130–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/17510694.2020.1858707
Wilhoit, E. D. (2017). Photo and video methods in organizational and managerial communication research. Management Communication Quarterly, 31(3), 447–466. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318917704511
Bardin, L. (2010). Análise de conteúdo (4th ed.). Lisboa: Edições 70.
Bell, E., & Davison, J. (2013). Visual management studies: Empirical and theoretical approaches. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(2), 167–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2012.00342.x
Berger, R. (2015). Now I see it, now I don’t: Researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 219–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794112468475
Bispo, M. de S. (2017). Educating qualitative researchers in management: Toward performative judgements. Revista de Administração de Empresas, 57(2), 158–169. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-759020170205
Bluhm, D. J., Harman, W., Lee, T.W., & Mitchell, T. R. (2011), Qualitative research in management: A decade of progress. Journal of Management Studies, 48(8), 1866–1891. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00972.x
Boxenbaum, E., Jones, C., Meyer, R. E., & Svejenova, S. (2018). Towards an articulation of the material and visual turn in organization studies. Organization Studies, 39(5–6), 597–616. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840618772611
Buchanan, D. A. (2001). The role of photography in organization research: A reengineering case illustration. Journal of Management Inquiry, 10(2), 151–164. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492601102018
Byrne, Z. S., Cave, K. A., & Raymer, S. D. (2021). Using a generalizable photo-coding methodology for assessing organizational culture artifacts. Journal of Business and Psychololy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-021-09773-0
Cassell, C., Radcliffe, L., & Malik, F. (2020). Participant reflexivity in organizational research design. Organizational Research Methods, 23(4), 750–773. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428119842640
Davison, J., McLean, C., & Warren, S. (2012). Exploring the visual in organizations and management. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 7(1), 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465641211223528
Dimaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095101
Farquhar, J., Michels, N., & Robson J. (2020). Triangulation in industrial qualitative case study research: Widening the scope. Industrial Marketing Management, 87, 160–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.02.001
Gioia, D. A., Corley, K. G., & Hamilton, A. L. (2013). Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research: Notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational Research Methods, 16(1), 15–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428112452151
Glaw, X., Inder, K., Kable, A., & Hazelton, M. (2017). Visual methodologies in qualitative research: Autophotography and photo elicitation applied to mental health research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917748215
Greenwood, M., Jack, G., & Haylock, B. (2019). Toward a methodology for analyzing visual rhetoric in corporate reports. Organizational Research Methods, 22(3), 798–827. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428118765942
Harper, D. (1988). Visual sociology: Expanding sociological vision. The American Sociologist, 19, 54–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02692374
Harper, D. (2005). What’s new visually? In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln. Tha Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd ed., pp. 747–762). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Hultin, L. (2019). On becoming a sociomaterial researcher: Exploring epistemological practices grounded in a relational, performative ontology. Information and Organization, 29(2), 91-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2019.04.004
Laroche, H. (2020). Observation as photography: A metaphor. M@n@gement, 23(3), 79–99. https://doi.org/10.37725/mgmt.v23i3.5513
Li, E. P. H., Prasad, A., Smith, C., Gutierrez, A., Lewis, E. & Brown, B. (2019). Visualizing community pride: Engaging community through photo and video-voice methods. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 14(4), 377–392. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-03-2018-1621
Machin, J. E., Moscato, E., & Dadzie, C. (2021). Visualizing food: Photography as a design thinking tool to generate innovative food experiences that improve food well-being. European Journal of Marketing, 55(9), 2515–2537. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2020-0141
Meyer, R. E., Höllerer, M. A., Jancsary, D., & van Leeuwen, T. (2013). The visual dimension in organizing, organization, and organization research: Core ideas, current developments, and promising avenues. The Academy of Management Annals, 7(1), 489–555. https://doi.org/10.1080/19416520.2013.781867
Moravcsik, A. (2014). Transparency: The revolution in qualitative research. PS: Political Science & Politics, 47(1), 48-53. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096513001789
Morse, J. M., Barrett, M., Mayan, M., Olson, K., & Spiers, J. (2002). Verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1(2), 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690200100202
Muzzio, H. (2021). Cidades criativas da UNESCO: Registros de design e artesanato em capitais do Nordeste. Farol – Revista de Estudos Organizacionais e Sociedade, 8(21), 263–289. https://doi.org/10.25113/farol.v8i21.6680
Nunkoosing, K. (2005). The problems with interviews. Qualitative Health Research, 15(5), 698–706. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732304273903
Pain, H. (2012). A literature review to evaluate the choice and use of visual methods. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 11(4), 303–319. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691201100401
Prins, E. (2010). Participatory photography: A tool for empowerment or surveillance? Action Research, 8(4), 426–443. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750310374502
Pullman, M. E., & Robson, S. K. A. (2007). Visual methods: Using photographs to capture customers’ experience with design. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 48(2), 121–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010880407300410
Ray, J. L., & Smith, A. D. (2012). Using photographs to research organizations: Evidence, considerations, and application in a field study. Organizational Research Methods, 2(15), 288–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428111431110
Shortt, H. (2012). Identityscapes of a hair salon: Work identities and the value of visual methods. Sociological Research Online, 17(2), 22. Retrieved from http://www.socresonline.org.uk/17/2/22.html
Shortt, H. (2015). Liminality, space and the importance of ‘transitory dwelling places’ at work. Human Relations, 68(4), 633–658. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726714536938
Shortt, H. L., & Warren, S. K. (2019). Grounded visual pattern analysis: Photographs in organizational field studies. Organizational Research Methods, 22(2), 539–563. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428117742495
Skjælaaen, G. R., Bygdås, A. L., & Hagen, A. L. (2020). Visual inquiry: Exploring embodied organizational practices by collaborative film-elicitation. Journal of Management Inquiry, 29(1), 59–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492618778138
Soares, J. S., & Storm, B. C. (2022). Exploring functions of and recollections with photos in the age of smartphone cameras. Memory Studies, 15(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/17506980211044712
Sølvberg, L. M., & Jarness, V. (2019). Assessing contradictions: Methodological challenges when mapping symbolic boundaries. Cultural Sociology, 13(2), 178–197. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749975518819907
Steyaert, C., Marti, L., & Michels, C. (2012). Multiplicity and reflexivity in organizational research: Towards a performative approach to the visual. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 7(1), 34–53. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465641211223456
Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. The Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610. https://doi.org/10.2307/258788
Thomas, L. D. W., & Ritala, P. (2022). Ecosystem legitimacy emergence: A collective action view. Journal of Management, 48(3), 515–541. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320986617
Vicente-Saez, R., & Martinez-Fuentes, C. (2018). Open Science now: A systematic literature review for an integrated definition. Journal of Business Research, 88, 428–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.12.043
Walker, G., Osbahr, H., & Cardey, S. (2021). Thematic collages in participatory photography: A process for understanding the adoption of zero budget natural farming in India. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920980956
Warren, S. (2005). Photography and voice in critical qualitative management research. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 18(6), 861–882. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570510627748
Williams, P., McDonald, P., & Mayes, R. (2021) The impact of disruptive innovation on creative workers: The case of photographers. Creative Industries Journal, 14:2, 130–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/17510694.2020.1858707
Wilhoit, E. D. (2017). Photo and video methods in organizational and managerial communication research. Management Communication Quarterly, 31(3), 447–466. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318917704511