Understanding research philosophy and approaches to theory development

Saunders, Mark N. K.; Lewis, Philip; Thornhill, Adrian and Bristow, Alexandra (2023). Understanding research philosophy and approaches to theory development. In: Saunders, Mark N. K.; Lewis, Philip and Thornhill, Adrian eds. Research Methods for Business Students (9th edition). Harlow: Pearson, pp. 128–174.

Abstract

By the end of this chapter you will be able to:

• explain the relevance of ontology, epistemology and axiology to business research;
• describe the main research paradigms that are significant for business research;
• explain the relevance for business research of philosophical positions such as positivism, critical realism, interpretivism, postmodernism and pragmatism;
• reflect on your own epistemological, ontological and axiological stance;
• reflect on and articulate your own philosophical position in relation to your research;
• distinguish between deductive, inductive, abductive and retroductive approaches to theory development.

Viewing alternatives

No digital document available to download for this item

Item Actions

Export

About