Researching Dynamic Phenomena in Complex Organizations: Collaborative Practice Research with Theory Triangulation

In this paper, we present a practice research strategy for collaboration with practitioners to execute valid and reliable research in the field while providing valuable, theory-based insight to practitioners who sponsor the research. This approach addresses the dual needs of researchers, who must gather data in real time and meet requirements of academic rigor, while maximizing the value and relevance of the work for practitioner collaborators. We demonstrate the approach with a case study of a Fortune 30 company undertaking an extensive organizational change initiative. During our 18-month research engagement with the company, we used a theory triangulation approach to guide our inquiry and analysis, iterating on emergent findings to articulate actionable recommendations for the practitioners working on the phenomena of interest. By describing our research design, we offer one method for framing ´real world´ research in a way that maximizes the benefit to researchers and practitioners.