Body and Senses in Organizational Research: Empathic Understandingfrom an Embodied Experience

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the contributions of the method of empathic understanding to the field of Organizational Studies by highlighting the corporeality and sensitivity of the researcher in the production and interpretation of data. Originality/value: Since empathic understanding can be viewed as a method for analyzing the researcher’s experience during fieldwork, this paper situates the role of the researcher’s body as an instrument for the collection of data during their research. The theory of organizational aesthetics is taken as a basis to discuss the relevance of the sensory dimension during the research process. Without giving priority to any particular sense (such as that of sight, for example), the construction of scientific knowledge is therefore discussed in terms of the human senses that respond to diverse stimuli by highlighting the relevance of the processes involved in the production of embodied and sensible knowledge for Organizational Studies. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical-empirical study of qualitative nature was carried out in a street market of a Brazilian city. The method of empathic understanding directed the entire process of data collection and analysis, in which the limitations of field observations were discussed by expanding the notion of the researcher’s own experience into that of a sensory experience. Findings: The findings suggest that it is possible for the researcher to engage their mind and body during research by experiencing the field and overcoming dichotomies such as cognition/sensitivity. Such an engagement can be viewed as a major contribution of the method of empathic understanding to Organizational Studies. Thus, the notion of the body as a major vehicle for the construction of knowledge is made evident in this paper through both the discussion of the empathic understanding approach and the research carried out.