Methods in Responsible Management Learning and Education – A Review

Abstract

The purpose of the current chapter is to examine which research methods have been employed to study RMLE phenomena and their contexts. This review allows us to determine if certain overarching approaches to generate knowledge as well as data collection and analysis tools are favored over others, which may indicate that the knowledge base created on RMLE may be stronger in some ways than in others. We also examine how research methods have been appliedand provide examples of excellent applications. Our findings show that the most commonly applied overarching research approaches in RMLE are survey methodology, case studies, and content analysis. Data collection techniques predominantly include interviews, observations, survey data, and the analysis of organizational documents or archival textual data. Data analysis techniques are dominated by descriptive statistics, simple mean comparisons, and thematic analysis. Based on our review, we discuss specific challenges of RMLE research and provide recommendations for navigating these challenges in the application of specific research methods.We also provide suggestions for alternative research approaches that may prove fruitful for future RMLE research.