Realising Management Research: Critical Realism as
an Underpinning Philosophy
Professor John Mingers
Kent Business School, UK
February 2014
Realising Research
1. Problems in the Philosophy of
Management Reseach
• Management research, particularly in the U.S., was long
dominated by positivism (more generally empiricism)
– Several surveys have demonstrated the preponderance of positivist
research in IS journals (Orlikowski, Walsham, Nandhakumar,
Mingers).
• During the 1980s, an alternative tradition arose from social
science - interpretivism (more generally conventionalism).
– Major journals, e.g., MISQ are now encouraging this approach (Lee,
Myers, Walsham, Jones)
• Other approaches include a critical perspective (Lyytinen, Truex,
Ngwenyama, Mingers, Klein) and postmodernism (Robinson,
White).
Realising Research
• Within the management discipline there are different
views about this diversity of paradigms:
– Isolationism: Burrell and Morgan identified four supposedly
irreconcilable paradigms. They are seen as equal but research
should follow a single paradigm.
– Imperialism: Many people believe in the superiority of a particular
paradigm, usually positivism. Benbasat and Weber argue the need
for disciplinary conformity.
– Pluralism: Accepts the need for a variety of paradigms within the
discipline or for particular research projects:
• Complementarism (e.g. Robey) sees different methods as being
more appropriate for different research questions
• Strong pluralism (e.g. Mingers) argues for combining methods within
a research project
Realising Research
3. Introduction to Critical Realism
CR has been developing since the 1970s in response to the antirealist developments in philosophy. Primarily Roy Bhaskar, but
also others such as Keat, Urry, Norris and Archer. Has attracted
much attention in recent years in sociology, economics,
geography, international relations and management
It aims to:
1 Re-establish a realist view of being in the ontological domain whilst
accepting the relativism of knowledge as socially and historically
conditioned in the epistemological domain;
2 Argue for a modified naturalism in social science;
3 Develop the idea of explanatory critique as a way of re-uniting facts and
values, and recognising that social theory is inevitably transformative.
4 Recast this in a dialectical form
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Morice, C., Kennedy, J., Rayner, N., and Jones, P. 2012. “Quantifying uncertainties in global and regional
temperature change using an ensemble of observational estimates: the HadCRUT4 dataset”, J. of Geophysical
Research, 117, D08101
Data available from: http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/info/warming/
I Explanatory Models: The Empirical and the Real
We must have explanatory models involving the interaction of causal mechanisms.
Statistical analysis of empirical data is not sufficient, no matter how sophisticated.
We have to move from the domain of the Empirical to the domain of the Real
The EMPIRICAL: events that are actually
observed and experienced
The ACTUAL: events (and non-events) that are
generated by the mechanisms
The REAL: mechanisms and structures with enduring
properties
Critical realist methodology - RRREIC:
• Resolution of complex phenomena into components
• Redescription in an explanatory meaningful way
• Retroduction of potential, hypothetical explanatory
mechanisms
• Elimination of alternative competing explanations
• Identification of causally efficacious mechanisms
• Correction of earlier findings/theories
Nate Silver “The Signal and the Noise”
Roy Bhaskar “Contexts of Interdisciplinarity: Interdisciplinarity and Climate
Change”
Do you think that social science should be value free?
• Yes
• No
• Don’t know
Answers:
• “Yes” Wrong - this position is self contradictory. To say science “ought” to be value
free is immediately to invoke a value – a performative contradiction.
Interestingly, such opposing intellectuals as Popper and Habermas agree that
rationality cannot itself be rationally justified:
Habermas: “the choice of rationality over dogmatism must itself either be
rationally justified, in which case rationality is committed, or be itself dogmatic”
Towards a Rational Society. 1971
Popper: “There are other tenable attitudes, notably that of critical rationalism,
which recognises the fact that the fundamental rationalist attitude results from
an act of faith – from faith in reason. … This is a moral decision” The Open Society
and its Enemies II, 1966, p. 231
• “No” Correct - social science cannot be value free. This is a fundamental tenet of CR
• “Don’t know” – you shouldn’t be here doing social science!
II Critical Realism is Value-Full and Committed
Social science is inevitably evaluative since its subject matter is inevitably evaluative
and value-full
• The “facts” of the social world are pre-structured in an normative way. This cannot
be avoided or “cured” by producing shallow descriptions:
•
•
•
The best description of a social phenomena is that which is richest and maximises
explanatory power (Popper should perhaps agree with this)
•
•
•
•
To say that someone “died” carries the presumption that they were not murdered
Hermeneutic adequacy is necessary but not sufficient
There is a “double hermeneutic” in the social world (Giddens)
This does not depend on the subject’s interests but on the subject matter itself
“Explanatory critique”: People hold beliefs about social matters.
•
•
Where social science finds those beliefs to be false it is right that it should reveal that
falsity (for otherwise it is hiding the truth);
if it finds that there are social mechanisms or structures that maintain the false belief
it should point this out – e.g., suppressing/supporting particular research; not
allowing information to be public; advertising and the media; corporate interests
III Applied CR Research in Open Systems
•
Research must pay attention both to the object/problem it studies
(intransitive) and the place/context of the study (transitive)
 The real, the objects of our knowledge, constitute the intransitive
domain of science. They are independent of us. Even speech becomes
intransitive after it is uttered (referential detachment).
 The production of knowledge, however, is the work of humans who
produce and refine the transitive objects of knowledge - theories,
results, anomalies, journals, recommendations etc. This aspect is clearly
a social process.
 This distinction allows us to
–
accept epistemic relativity - i.e., that knowledge is always historically and socially
located,
– but reject judgmental relativity - i.e, that all views are equally valid with no rational
grounds for choosing between them.
•
Scientific research should involve distinctions between:
 Structure/events
 Real/Actual/Empirical
 Transfactuality of laws
•
Open systems require:


•
Social phenomena:


•
Laminated totality (system) of enmeshed mechanisms of different types and at
different levels
Interdisciplinarity
Use of the Transformative Model of Social Action (further developed by Archer)
Social life as concept dependent but also intransitive – constituted of, but not
exhausted by, actors’ conceptualisations
Use of the MELD categories:
 1M: structure, differentiation, stratification, mechanisms/events
 2E: process, dynamics, absence and negativity, contradiction
 3L: holism, totality, emergence, holistic causality, recursiveness
 4D: agency, transformation, intentionality, autonomy
Realising Research
Major Literature
•
•
•
1975 A Realist Theory of Science: Concerned with natural science (transcendental realism)
1979 The Possibility of Naturalism: Concerned with social science (critical naturalism)
1986 Scientific Realism and Human Emancipation: Argues for emancipatory critique (critical
realism)
•
•
1989 Reclaiming Reality: General overview, includes critiques of Fereyabend, Bachelard, Rorty
1993 Dialectic: The Pulse of Freedom: Recasts the whole theory in terms of dialectics. Introduces
the MELD model. (dialectical critical realism)
•
•
•
1994 Plato Etc.: A short and dense version of Dialectic
2000 From East to West: Attempts a link to Eastern philosophy and religion
2002 From Science to Emancipation: Readable overview based on lectures plus several debates
and discussions
•
1998 Critical Realism: Essential Readings: Best introduction with excerpts from Bhaskar plus
commentary and essays (by Archer et al)
•
•
•
2007 Dictionary of Critical Realism (Hartwig, M.)
1995 Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach (Archer, M.)
2000 Realism and Social Science (Sayer, A.)
Recent and Forthcoming CR works
Bhaskar, R. 2010. "Contexts of interdisciplinarity: Interdisciplinarity and climate change," in:
Interdisciplinarity and Climate Change: Transforming Knowledge and Practice for Our Global
Future, R. Bhaskar, C. Frank, K.G. Høyer, P. Naess and J. Parker (eds.). London: Routledge, pp. 1-24.
Bhaskar, R., and Hartwig, M. 2010. The Formation of Critical Realism: A Personal Perspective London:
Routledge.
Archer, M., and Maccarini, A. (eds.). 2013. Engaging with the World: Agency, Institutions, Historical
Formations London: Routledge.
Bhaskar, R. 2013. "Prolegomenon," in: Engaging with the World: Agency, Institutions, Historical
Formations M. Archer and A. Maccarini (eds.). London: Routledge, pp. 11-21.
Mingers, J. 2014. Systems Thinking, Critical Realism and Philosophy: A Confluence of Ideas. London:
Routledge.
Edwards, P., O'Mahoney, J., and Vincent, S. (eds.). 2014. Studying Organizations Using Critical Realism:
A Practical Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bhaskar, R., and Danermark, B. 2015. Interdisciplinarity and Well-Being. London: Routledge.
Silver, N. 2012. The Signal and the Noise: The Art and Science of Prediction. London: Penguin.
Realising Research
Example – The Tipping Point (Gladwell)
• In Baltimore in 1995 there was a sudden explosion of
syphilis and sexually transmitted diseases. This was
completely unexpected and difficult to understand.
Reported Cases of Syphilis, Baltimore
800
700
600
500
400
Cases
300
200
100
0
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
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Methodology
• Resolution: A complex interaction of biology, sexuality, social practices,
medicine, town planning, politics
• Redescription: Analysis to identify causal linkages between these different
components and strata
• Retroduction: Three hypothetical causal mechanisms were suggested
– Center for Disease Control (CDC) – increased use of crack cocaine
increasing risky behaviour and attracting more participants
– Prof Johnathan Zenilman (John Hopkins University) – breakdown of
medical services through budget cuts reducing the number of STD clinics
– Prof John Potterat (El Paso Dept. of Health) – spread of sexual activity
through slum clearance
Realising Research
Drug usage
Rate of
exposure
Rate of
infection
+
Geographical
area
+
People
exposed
New cases
R
+
+
+
+
+
Susceptible
people
Infected
people
-
B
+
+
-
People being
treated
Medical
facilities
+
B
People
recovering
-
+
Duration of
infectivity
Budget
B
Balancing loop
R
Reinforcing loop
Realising Research
The EMPIRICAL: events that
are actually observed and
experienced
1000
500
0
1989
The ACTUAL: events (and
non-events) that are
generated by the
mechanisms
The REAL:
mechanisms and
structures with
enduring properties
1994
• Elimination: Research to see which if any could actually
be responsible for the effects. Observations, modelling,
comparisons, testing etc
• Identification: of the correct one or combination of
several
• Correction of theory about public health and also
programmes of action to improve the situation