Organisational autoethnography

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to review and organise the autoethnography literature: to explore the obstacles of and opportunities for autoethnography in organisation research; to support PhD students and supervisors who have chosen this methodological route to more clearly define their autoethnographic positions and choices; and to propose new research directions for organisational autoethnography. Design/methodology/approach -The authors critically summarise autoethnography as a contemporary approach to organisational ethnography by looking back, looking at the present, and looking to the future. The authors briefly consider the historical and disciplinary developmentand vehement critique -of autoethnography, trace its shifting epistemological positions and introduce three emergent "possibilities" of organisation autoethnography. Findings -The authors highlight how autoethnography can tell stories otherwise silenced; exploring the mundane, ignored and distorted in current academic life, past and other work experiences, working with others through collaborative or co-produced autoethnography in exciting new organisational contexts. Originality/value -This paper is one of the first attempts to review autoethnography as a contemporary approach to organisation autoethnography.

From “clientilism” to transformational leadership? An autoethnographic journey from Soviet Georgia to the UK

“…Using Bourdieu and Wacquant's (1992) analogy, these critical selfreflections gave me an additional chance of re-examining not only my leadership practice but the ways in which the system of education has been manipulated by the current social, political and economic forces. This takes me to the next point of my discussion -using autoethnography as a tool for exploring power conflicts, as suggested by Doloriert and Sambrook (2012). From the very beginning of my leadership career in the UK, I realised that providing genuine "inspirational motivation" and "idealised influence" was proving to be a mammoth task, as I felt that my good intentions as a mid-leader were being squashed by both the pressure from above -i.e.…”

“…According to Bryman (2007, p. 15), "the inference that different situations call for a different leadership style, and the belief that approaches such as transformational leadership are likely not to be effective in some situations, are gaining increasing support in contemporary research". Against this theoretical background, and with consideration of the three epistemological positions of authoethnography as suggested by Doloriert and Sambrook (2012), I can now turn to the next point of my discussion: the application of the autoethnographic approach as an analytical tool.…”

“…In a previous issue, Doloriert and Sambrook (2012) argued that autoethnographic approach could help to uncover some experiences and voices, which were distorted or silenced because of the discomfort they caused. The authors also identified three epistemological points of departure for an autoethnographic study to include: evocative interpretivist approach conveyed through the writing of emotional accounts, analytical approach where conceptual frameworks support autoethnographic process and, finally, a radical approach, where power relations are examined.…”

“…Design/methodology/approach -In a previous issue, Doloriert and Sambrook (2012) argued that autoethnographic approach could help to uncover some experiences and voices that previously were silenced due to the discomfort they caused. In response to this claim and with consideration of three epistemological possibilities of autoethnography as suggested by Doloriert and Sambrook (2012), the author uses narrative accounts of personal experiences of leadership in Soviet Georgia and in the UK as the main source of data in the attempt to demonstrate how the three epistemological positions overlap and complement each other in the context of a critical autoethnography. Findings -The paper argues that autoethnographic approach can provide a unique opportunity for a simultaneous analysis of the particularities of leadership practice across different socio-political environments, whereas the 'three positions' approach could be used as an expedient template for further exploration of educational leadership.…”

“…The authors also identified three epistemological points of departure for an autoethnographic study to include: evocative interpretivist approach conveyed through the writing of emotional accounts, analytical approach where conceptual frameworks support autoethnographic process and, finally, a radical approach, where power relations are examined. Using Doloriert and Sambrook's (2012) theoretical template and in response to their claim, this paper aims to contribute to the long-established ethnographic tradition in the educational leadership literature to advocate that an autoethnographic approach can provide a unique opportunity for a simultaneous analysis of the particularities of leadership work within two contrasting socio-political environments: a Soviet educational establishment and a contemporary UK higher education institution. The author's curiosity was also piqued by the ambition to use critical analysis of the embodied autobiographical accounts to detect some parallels between current "transformational" leadership within the UK higher education and a Soviet system of "clientilism".…”