The DOI matches its Crossref record; 107 of the 107 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Strategies for Theorizing from Process Data
Abstract
In this article I describe and compare a number of alternative generic strategies for the analysis of process data, looking at the consequences of these strategies for emerging theories. I evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies in terms of their capacity to generate theory that is accurate, parsimonious, general, and useful and suggest that method and theory are inextricably intertwined, that multiple strategies are often advisable, and that no analysis strategy will produce theory without an uncodifiable creative leap, however small. Finally, I argue that there is room in the organizational research literature for more openness within the academic community toward a variety of forms of coupling between theory and data.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Citations
Cites
Lincoln, Y. S., Guba, E. G., & Pilotta, J. J. (1985) · International Journal of Intercultural Relations · doi:10.1016/0147-1767(85)90062-8 · Cited by 45,787
Handbook of Qualitative Research
Crozier, G., Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (1994) · British Journal of Educational Studies · doi:10.2307/3121684 · Cited by 26,666
The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (2017) · Aldine (Routledge reprint) · doi:10.4324/9780203793206 · Cited by 25,789
Basics of Qualitative Research
Ozanne, J. L., Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1992) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/002224379202900312 · Cited by 17,864
Basics of Qualitative Research
Ozanne, J. L., Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. M. (1992) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.2307/3172751 · Cited by 17,852
Building Theories from Case Study Research
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989) · The Academy of Management Review · doi:10.2307/258557 · Cited by 17,455
(2008) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-77282-0_6 · Cited by 17,411
(1990) · Cited by 11,110
(1969) · Virtual Defense Library (Ministerio de Defensa) · Cited by 10,735
Powers, C. H., & Giddens, A. (1988) · Social Forces · doi:10.2307/2579442 · Cited by 8,854
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 4,101–4,200 of 7,502
Vestola, E. N., Larsson, J., & Hedgren, E. (2024) · Construction Management and Economics · doi:10.1080/01446193.2024.2376580 · Cited by 6
Into the Customers’ Shoes: Multimodal practices for customer-centric strategizing
Daymond, J., Meisiek, S., & Knight, E. R. W. (2024) · Organization Studies · doi:10.1177/01708406241273792 · Cited by 6
The role of strategic communication and sensemaking in implementing management innovation
Kimura, T. (2024) · Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management An International Journal · doi:10.1108/qrom-04-2024-2721 · Cited by 6
Entrepreneurship as strategic network creation: A relational practices perspective
Sydow, J., & Schmidt, T. (2024) · European Management Review · doi:10.1111/emre.12698 · Cited by 6
Hutchinson, C. L., Manoharan, A., & Jones, J. T. (2024) · Disability and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09638288.2024.2439013 · Cited by 6
Ecosystem framing and infomediary resonance: Amazon’s early years (1995–2003)
Thomas, L. D. W., & Snihur, Y. (2024) · Technovation · doi:10.1016/j.technovation.2024.103159 · Cited by 6
Cyclical Change of Partnership Practices in Hybrid Settings
Weber, C., Grewe‐Salfeld, M., Göbel, M., Harsman, B., Matsuo, Y., & Vogel, R. (2025) · Journal of Management Studies · doi:10.1111/joms.13185 · Cited by 6
Colombage, A., & Sedera, D. (2025) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su17052065 · Cited by 6
Bryson, J. M., Seo, D., Cheng, Y., Crosby, B. C., & Wang, S. (2025) · Public Management Review · doi:10.1080/14719037.2025.2470409 · Cited by 6
What makes a rating useable? Shifting epistemic practices in the ESG rating field
van Weeren, M., & Bluntz, C. (2025) · Accounting Organizations and Society · doi:10.1016/j.aos.2025.101598 · Cited by 6
Johanson, M., & Kao, P. T. (2015) · Management & Organizational History · doi:10.1080/17449359.2015.1029946 · Cited by 6
Understanding Strategic Service Partnerships
Baker, K. P. (2012) · Public Performance & Management Review · doi:10.2753/pmr1530-9576350405 · Cited by 6
The Blind Men, the Elephant and the CT Scanner
Evans, R. G. (2006) · Healthcare policy · doi:10.12927/hcpol.2006.18123 · Cited by 6
Open-ended tasks and time discipline
van Wijk, G. (2015) · Time & Society · doi:10.1177/0961463x15572175 · Cited by 6
GTM’s applicability for studying coopetition in clusters
Götz, M. A., & Jankowska, B. (2014) · Problemy Zarządzania - Management Issues · doi:10.7172/1644-9584.47.10 · Cited by 6
Audette-Chapdelaine, M. (2014) · Politiques et management public · doi:10.3166/pmp.31.283-300 · Cited by 6
Vovides, Y., & Inman, S. (2016) · Future Internet · doi:10.3390/fi8020026 · Cited by 6
Guiette, A., & Vandenbempt, K. (2014) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/s1744-211720140000007006 · Cited by 6
Göhlich, M., Weber, S. M., Schröer, A., & Schemmann, M. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-13299-6_1 · Cited by 6
Proposal of indicators for the structural analysis of scientific articles
Sordi, J. O. D., de Paulo, W. L., Meireles, M. A., de Azevedo, M. C., & Pinochet, L. H. C. (2017) · Journal of Informetrics · doi:10.1016/j.joi.2017.02.012 · Cited by 6
Service Digitization – Review of the Literature and Research Agenda
Leischnig, A., Ivens, B. S., Wölfl, S., & Hein, D. W. E. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-17550-4_2 · Cited by 6
Stakeholder attributes and attitudes during privatisation: a New Zealand case study
Ahmed, H., & Cohen, D. A. (2018) · International Journal of Public Sector Management · doi:10.1108/ijpsm-09-2017-0258 · Cited by 6
Towards an epigenetic understanding of evolutionary economics and evolutionary economic geography
Barrutia, J., & Zabala‐Iturriagagoitia, J. M. (2018) · Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review · doi:10.1007/s40844-018-0109-6 · Cited by 6
Wide Awake Housekeepers on Duty: The Institutional Logic of Compassion in a Faith-based Organization
Espedal, G. (2019) · Nordic Journal of Religion and Society · doi:10.18261/issn.1890-7008-2019-01-02 · Cited by 6
Blomgren, M., & Waks, C. (2017) · Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration · doi:10.58235/sjpa.v21i4.11485 · Cited by 6
Garcia, J.-F., Grandval, S., Montargot, N., & Oiry, E. (2020) · Revue de gestion des ressources humaines · doi:10.3917/grhu.116.0003 · Cited by 6
Co-evolution of a MNE and institutional environment – focus on institutional logics change
Karhu, A. (2020) · Business History · doi:10.1080/00076791.2020.1778669 · Cited by 6
Barber, J. P., Villar, C., & Benito-Sarriá, G. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12176818 · Cited by 6
Rolland, K.-H., & Lyytinen, K. (2021) · Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) · doi:10.24251/hicss.2021.807 · Cited by 6
van der Krift, H. J. C., Gevers, J., & van Weele, A. J. (2021) · Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management · doi:10.1016/j.pursup.2021.100698 · Cited by 6
Paananen, S. (2021) · International Peacekeeping · doi:10.1080/13533312.2021.1951611 · Cited by 6
Methodologies Toward a New Era of Public Administration: Diversity and Advancement
Yang, K. (2021) · Public Performance & Management Review · doi:10.1080/15309576.2021.1980065 · Cited by 6
Managing the global service transition: employees’ reactions and management responses
Pană, M., & Kreye, M. E. (2021) · Production Planning & Control · doi:10.1080/09537287.2021.2005839 · Cited by 6
Jatraningrum, D. A., Jati, R. K., Maludin, S., Manalu, R., Helmi, R. L., & Hermawati, W. (2021) · STI Policy and Management Journal · doi:10.14203/stipm.2021.309 · Cited by 6
Framing students’ reflective interactions based on photos
ten Brink, M., Nack, F., & Schouten, B. (2021) · LearnXDesign Conference · doi:10.21606/drs_lxd2021.02.185 · Cited by 6
Omeihe, K. O. (2022) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/978-1-80117-852-520221009 · Cited by 6
Blagoev, B. V., & Costas, J. (2022) · Handbooks in philosophy · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-76606-1_52 · Cited by 6
Chabaud, D., Eynaud, P., & Raulet‐Croset, N. (2022) · Revue internationale de Psychosociologie · doi:10.3917/rips1.075.0101 · Cited by 6
Theorizing and Entrepreneurship
Shepherd, D. A., & Patzelt, H. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-24045-4_1 · Cited by 6
Longitudinal, qualitative-empirical insights into the development of carsharing
Laudien, S. M., & Fernández, P. G. (2023) · Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship · doi:10.1016/j.stae.2023.100043 · Cited by 6
Niang, M., Gagnon, M., & Dupéré, S. (2023) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-023-16729-x · Cited by 6
Kuitert, L. (2021) · Architecture and the Built Environment · doi:10.59490/abe.2021.07.5750 · Cited by 6
Sustainability-Oriented Low-Carbon Innovation in SOEs: A Case Study of Shanghai Metro
Yu, G., Zheng, Q., Lin, X., & Yuan, K. (2023) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su152316216 · Cited by 6
Pratiques plurielles d’évaluation propres aux organismes communautaires au Québec : état des lieux
Rozas, S. T., Léonard, M., Lussier-Lejeune, F., Fathallah, H. O., Goulet, V., Métivier, C., Gervais, L., & Chicoine, G. (2023) · Reflets Revue d’intervention sociale et communautaire · doi:10.7202/1106955ar · Cited by 6
Braun, S. M., Tapia, P. C., & Mauer, R. (2024) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12529 · Cited by 6
Platforming for Path-Breaking? The Case of Regional Electromobility Initiatives in Germany
Sydow, J., & Koll, F. (2017) · Knowledge and space · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-45023-0_10 · Cited by 6
Alternating forms of lock-in: Publishing digital news in the path of a free content culture
Rothmann, W., Wenzel, M., & Wagner, H. (2014) · Journal of the Association for Information Systems · Cited by 6
Computational Approaches for Analyzing Latent Social Structures in Open Source Organizing 1
Lindberg, A., Berente, N., Gaskin, J. E., Lyytinen, K., & Yoo, Y. (2013) · International Conference on Information Systems · Cited by 6
Smits, A. A. J., Vissers, G. A. N., & Dankbaar, B. (2015) · Creativity and Innovation Management · doi:10.1111/caim.12117 · Cited by 6
Huber, T., Fischer, T., Kirsch, L. J., & Dibbern, J. (2014) · Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) · doi:10.1109/hicss.2014.529 · Cited by 6
Business Process Change in E-Government Projects
Kennedy, A., Coughlan, J. P., & Kelleher, C. (2010) · International Journal of Electronic Government Research · doi:10.4018/jegr.2010102002 · Cited by 6
Interpreting Innovation Dynamics with Complexity Theory
Zhao, Y. (2014) · International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management · doi:10.1142/s0219877014500357 · Cited by 6
Mirroring Tools for Collaborative Analysis and Reflection
Richter, C., Симоненко, Е. С., Sugibuchi, T., Spyratos, N., Babič, F., Wagner, J., Paralič, J., Raček, M., Damşa, C. I., & Christophides, V. (2012) · SensePublishers eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-6209-004-0_7 · Cited by 6
BALANCING COORDINATION AND AUTONOMY DURING POST-ACQUISITION WITHIN A HIGH-TECH FIRM
Barqawi, N., Mathiassen, L., Syed, K., & Firasta-Vastani, S. (2015) · International Journal of Innovation Management · doi:10.1142/s1363919616500365 · Cited by 6
Co-selection in R&D Project Portfolio Management: Theory and Evidence
Aaltonen, P. (2010) · Cited by 6
The Helix of Change: A Visual Metaphor
Kassinis, G. I., & Panayiotou, A. (2016) · European Management Review · doi:10.1111/emre.12096 · Cited by 6
McLean, T., & McGovern, T. (2017) · The British Accounting Review · doi:10.1016/j.bar.2017.01.002 · Cited by 6
Practice or lip service: exploring collaboration perspectives in purchasing
Boyce, W. S., & Mundy, R. A. (2017) · IMP Journal · doi:10.1108/imp-05-2016-0009 · Cited by 6
Entreprise sociale : être ou ne pas être hybride ? Étude d’une coopérative d’activité et d’emploi
Boudes, M. (2018) · Marché et organisations · doi:10.3917/maorg.031.0041 · Cited by 6
Customer relationships and interdependences in the internationalization process of the firm
Limp, A., Rezende, S. F. L., & Versiani, Â. F. (2018) · RAUSP Management Journal · doi:10.1016/j.rauspm.2017.10.001 · Cited by 6
Xue, J., & Zhang, Z. (2018) · Journal of Organizational Change Management · doi:10.1108/jocm-03-2017-0078 · Cited by 6
A model for understanding and managing cost growth on joint programs
Dwyer, M., Szajnfarber, Z., Cameron, B. G., & Crawley, E. F. (2018) · Acta Astronautica · doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.07.004 · Cited by 6
Jankowska, B., & Götz, M. A. (2018) · Advances in spatial science · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90575-4_4 · Cited by 6
Understanding Digital Innovation from a Layered Architectural Perspective
Lund, J., & Ebbesson, E. (2019) · Technology Innovation Management Review · doi:10.22215/timreview/1218 · Cited by 6
Planting Seeds for Social Dialogue: An Institutional Work Perspective
Gansemans, A., Louche, C., & D’Haese, M. (2020) · British Journal of Industrial Relations · doi:10.1111/bjir.12523 · Cited by 6
Kuebart, A., & Ibert, O. (2019) · Raumforschung und Raumordnung / Spatial Research and Planning · doi:10.2478/rara-2019-0047 · Cited by 6
Bengtsson, M., Enberg, C., & Tell, F. (2019) · Industrial and Corporate Change · doi:10.1093/icc/dtz065 · Cited by 6
Ciampi, C., & Berland, N. (2019) · Revue internationale de Psychosociologie · doi:10.3917/rips1.061.0025 · Cited by 6
Spin-Offs as Microfoundations of Dynamic Capabilities in Rapidly Growing SME
Laviolette, É. M. (2019) · Management international · doi:10.7202/1066070ar · Cited by 6
Resource transformation in the reconstitution of broken interorganizational relationships
Poblete, L. A. (2020) · Journal of strategy and management · doi:10.1108/jsma-04-2020-0089 · Cited by 6
Service conversation: advisory, relational and transformative approaches
Gopaldas, A., Carnevale, M., Kedzior, R., & Siebert, A. (2021) · Journal of Services Marketing · doi:10.1108/jsm-09-2019-0365 · Cited by 6
Entrepreneurial Orientation in Coworking-Spaces for Corporate Entrepreneurship and Venturing
Bouncken, R. B., & Görmar, L. (2021) · Multidisciplinary Business Review · doi:10.35692/07183992.14.1.8 · Cited by 6
Leading temporary project teams: An analysis of task‐ and person‐focused leadership over time
Couture, M., & Harvey, J. (2021) · Nonprofit Management and Leadership · doi:10.1002/nml.21468 · Cited by 6
Chiaroni, D., Orlandi, M., & Urbinati, A. (2021) · Management for professionals · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-69380-0_3 · Cited by 6
Corporate social responsibility as a legitimation strategy in a merger
Thelisson, A., & Meïer, O. (2021) · Management Decision · doi:10.1108/md-09-2020-1189 · Cited by 6
Enam, A., Dreyer, H. C., & de Boer, L. (2022) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/35950 · Cited by 6
Roos, A., & Gaddefors, J. (2022) · The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation · doi:10.1177/14657503221089802 · Cited by 6
Huang, L., & Nenonen, S. (2022) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.05.052 · Cited by 6
Nieschke, S., & Mauer, R. (2022) · Venture Capital · doi:10.1080/13691066.2022.2091493 · Cited by 6
Mmbaga, N. A., Yan, J., & Gras, D. (2022) · Strategic Organization · doi:10.1177/14761270221114913 · Cited by 6
Ecosystem emergence : an investigation of the emergence processes of six digital service ecosystems
Thomas, L. D. W. (2013) · doi:10.25560/18315 · Cited by 6
Explaining History of eGovernment Implementation in Developing Countries: An Analytical Framework
Wahid, F. (2011) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-22878-0_4 · Cited by 6
Emergent Negotiations: Stability and Shifts in Process Dynamics
Olekalns, M., & Weingart, L. R. (2018) · Figshare · doi:10.1184/r1/6705314 · Cited by 6
Technology Adaptation: The Case of Large-Scale Information Systems
Chae, B. K. (2001) · Journal of the Association for Information Systems · Cited by 6
La tension entre le mondial et le local
Naguib, R. (2006) · Gestion · doi:10.3917/riges.311.0048 · Cited by 6
Managing Foreign Business Operations Through Institutional Change from Transition to Post-Transition
Heliste, P., Karhunen, P., & Kosonen, R. (2008) · Journal of East-West Business · doi:10.1300/j097v14n01_04 · Cited by 6
Gaskin, J. E., Lyytinen, K., Thummadi, B. V., Schutz, D. M., Yoo, Y., Weiss, A., & Berente, N. (2010) · Cited by 6
Stratégie d’innovation continue dans un contexte de Red Queen Effect : Une étude empirique
Delacour, H., & Liarte, S. (2015) · Management international · doi:10.7202/1030392ar · Cited by 6
Large IT projects as interventions in digital ecosystems
Purao, S., & Desouza, K. C. (2010) · International Conference on Management of Emergent Digital EcoSystems (MEDES) · doi:10.1145/1936254.1936257 · Cited by 6
Challenges and opportunities in the journey of the design-led innovation champions
Matthews, J., Bucolo, S., & Wrigley, C. (2012) · QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) · Cited by 6
New Learning—Old Methods? How E-research Might Change Technology-Enhanced Learning Research
Reimann, P., & Markauskaitė, L. (2010) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-5716-0_12 · Cited by 6
Richardson, M. (2006) · Research Commons (University of Waikato) · Cited by 6
Technology Development and Learning in Entrepreneurial FirmsPreprint
Ravasi, D., & Turati, C. (2001) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.292561 · Cited by 6
Rowe, C. M., Birnberg, J. G., & Shields, M. D. (2005) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.774005 · Cited by 6
Buttriss, G. J., & Wilkinson, I. (2004) · Cited by 6
Generating Corporate Life Cycles from the Paradigm Life CyclePreprint
Yolles, M. I., Fink, G., Iles, P., & Sawagvudcharee, O. (2011) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2052396 · Cited by 6
Essays on middle management responses to change initiatives
Hope, O. (2010) · NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives · Cited by 6
The Effects of Coopetition and Coopetition Capability on Firm Innovation Performance
Park, B.-J. R. (2011) · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech) · Cited by 6
CIO HERDS AND USER GANGS IN THE ADOPTION OF OPEN SOURCE SOFTWAREPreprint
Miralles, F., Sieber, S., & Valor, J. (2005) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 6
Raghuram, S., Brewster, C. J., Chen, X.-P., Farndale, E., Gully, S., & MORLEY, M. J. (2017) · The International Journal of Human Resource Management · doi:10.1080/09585192.2017.1307244 · Cited by 6
Metadata
- Authors
- Langley, A.
- Affiliations
- Université du Québec à Montréal (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Langley, Ann
- ORCID
- Langley, Ann
- Venue
- The Academy of Management Review
- Publisher
- Academy of Management
- Published
- 1999-10
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 691
- ISSN
- 0363-7425 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2115497642
- Semantic Scholar
- 419fd94ab6cccf99829edebee437ef9755829fba
- Cited by
- 7,008
- References
- 106
- Citations by year
- 2026: 578 · 2025: 535 · 2024: 482 · 2023: 445 · 2022: 507 · 2021: 504 · 2020: 450 · 2019: 398 · 2018: 374 · 2017: 329 · 2016: 267 · 2015: 289 · 2014: 283 · 2013: 261 · 2012: 231
- FWCI
- 28.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Academy of Management Review (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Business Strategies and Management Research
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Business and International Management › Business and Management Studies
- Keywords
- process data, theorizing, theory generation, parsimony, generalizability, organizational analysis
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review