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 7,301–7,400 of 7,502
Soehardjojo, J. L. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7454962
Shi, J. (2026) · Corporate and Business Strategy Review · doi:10.22495/cbsrv7i3siart3
Adams, K., Yu, H., & Adarkwah, G. K. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7460129
Areas of Growth for Adaptive iControl: Insights from a Longitudinal Case Study
Haasnoot, M., Janssen, M., & Bharosa, N. (2026) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-38014-2_30
Orchestrating open innovation in university technology development: A system dynamics reanalysis
Pujotomo, D., Ulkhaq, M. M., Bakhtiar, A., Susanty, A., Ma'aram, A. B., & Hassan, S. A. H. S. (2026) · Journal of Open Innovation Technology Market and Complexity · doi:10.1016/j.joitmc.2026.100875
陈谷川 (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7440484
Souza, A. R., Faccin, K., & Piqué, J. M. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7468003
Samuel, T., Abbas, I., Vinod, R., Theresa, A., & Hewage, K. (2026) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.1017884
Reuther, K., Off, R., & Dahle, Y. (2026) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.1017766
Sert, O., & Mert, İ. S. (2026) · International journal of organizational analysis · doi:10.1108/ijoa-03-2026-6703
Oftedal, E., Andreassen, T. A., & Breit, E. (2026) · Scandinavian Journal of Management · doi:10.1016/j.scaman.2026.101479
Zakaria, H. M., Amin, U. U., Nordin, N., Salim, M. N. H. M., & Hasbullah, S. A. (2026) · Higher Education Research & Development · doi:10.1080/07294360.2026.2730971
Etterforskningsledelse som praksis – når plan møter praksis i drapsetterforskningens initialfase
Filstad, C. (2026) · Praktisk økonomi & ledelse · doi:10.18261/pol.42.3.2
How Organizations Evaluate Eco‐Innovation Investability: A Managerial Cognition Perspective
Giacomo, M. R. D. (2026) · Business Strategy and the Environment · doi:10.1002/bse.71570
Between Play and Reason: Integrating Sensible Foolishness Into Strategy‐Making Workshops
Lu, R., Burke, G. T., Omidvar, O., & Carrington, D. J. (2026) · Journal of Management Studies · doi:10.1111/joms.70167
The ongoing fashioning of change: How senior managers translate ideas through reframing
Smits, A. A. J., & Heusinkveld, S. (2026) · Scandinavian Journal of Management · doi:10.1016/j.scaman.2026.101477
Bernhardsen, T. Å., & Solvoll, S. (2026) · International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research · doi:10.1108/ijebr-01-2025-0092
Cross-Border Tensions in Creative Service Delivery on Global Professional Digital Platforms
Nemkova, E., Bartsch, F., & Tóth, Z. (2026) · Journal of International Marketing · doi:10.1177/1069031x261490582
Cognitive Frames and the Entrepreneurial Journey: Antecedents, Support, and Growth
Joshi, K. M. (2026) · City Research Online (City University London)
Malukaya, F. L. (2026) · Sémaphore (Université du Québec à Rimouski)
Venkatramana, M., Mandal, P. C., & Sarmah, A. K. (2026) · Restitution Law Review · doi:10.5281/zenodo.22827925
Build-your-own GPT: Field lessons about configuring a proprietary generative AI solution
Recker, J., Grashoff, I., & Mayer, T. M. (2026) · Information and Organization · doi:10.1016/j.infoandorg.2026.100648
Love, P. E. D., & Matthews, J. (2026) · Safety Science · doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2026.107461
Affa, A. S., & Satrio, D. (2026) · Social Sciences & Humanities Open · doi:10.1016/j.ssaho.2026.103685
Stöber, L. F., Becker, M., Lang, S., Schlaile, M. P., & Ebersberger, B. (2026) · Journal of Innovation & Knowledge · doi:10.1016/j.jik.2026.101132
GONG, S., Wang, H., & ding, R. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7499576
Digital Sovereignty and Non-market Strategy in Multinational Technology Firms: Implications for AsiaPreprint
Zhang, Y., & Zhang, D. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-10680698/v1
On Becoming Who We Are: How a Social Venture Layers Its Identity in an Emerging Field
Gur, F. A., Mooney, C. H., & Mathias, B. D. (2026) · Business & Society · doi:10.1177/00076503261485678
A process theory of data-centric marketing innovation
Gebauer, H., Krabacz, F., Laroque, C., Rüffer, J., & Ziegler, D. (2026) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2026.09.006
Schooley, S. E. (2026) · International journal of organizational analysis · doi:10.1108/ijoa-03-2026-6633
Moss, T. W., Williams, T. A., George, K., & Minniti, M. (2026) · Journal of Business Venturing · doi:10.1016/j.jbusvent.2026.106654
Tabas, A. M., Kansheba, J. M., Fubah, C. N., & Mehmood, K. (2026) · Business Strategy and the Environment · doi:10.1002/bse.71564
Hussain, S. S., & Farshchian, B. A. (2026) · Journal of the Association for Information Systems
Fraser, J. L., Altman, E. J., & Özcan, P. (2026) · Strategic Management Journal · doi:10.1002/smj.70124
Ahlström, D., & Guo, C. Z. (2026) · Journal of Management History · doi:10.1108/jmh-06-2026-0117
Placing history: Changing uses of the material past in a historic place
Ferri, C., Favero, G., & Lusiani, M. (2026) · Business History · doi:10.1080/00076791.2026.2714445
Dülger, M. (2026) · Journal of Applied and Theoretical Social Sciences · doi:10.37241/jatss.2026.161
Herter, C. E. (2026) · Kölner Universitäts PublikationsServer (Universität zu Köln)
Scaffolding Entrepreneurial Mindset Development: with the Gift of Confidence
Loef, J. (2026) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) · doi:10.33612/diss.1569838203
Forced choices without resolutions: A dialectical view of strategic change in an endgame industry
Leder, H., Reihlen, M. R., & Albers, S. (2026) · Strategic Organization · doi:10.1177/14761270261495297
Karlsson, A., Björk, J., & Nilsson, S. (2026) · Journal of Engineering and Technology Management · doi:10.1016/j.jengtecman.2026.102010
Zaher, A., Prikshat, V., el aziz, J. A., & Vinot, D. (2026) · Journal of Health Organization and Management · doi:10.1108/jhom-03-2026-0364
Nesse, S. (2026) · Strategic Organization · doi:10.1177/14761270261495271
Fukushima, M. (2026) · E3S Web of Conferences · doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202674405004
Cerezo-Narváez, A., Delgado, M. G., Ramírez-Peña, M., Sánchez-García, D., & Ramos, J. S. (2026) · Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.3389/frai.2026.1962132
Policy learning dynamics in a prolonged crisis : COVID-19 policy responses in Quebec and Ontario
Ahmadiani, S. (2026) · Papyrus : Institutional Repository (Université de Montréal) · doi:10.71781/36258
Beyond Transparency: Governing Visibility–Opacity Tensions in Circular Supply Chains
Rashid, A., & Rasheed, R. (2026) · Business Strategy and the Environment · doi:10.1002/bse.71614
Skučaitė, G., & Blaževičius, M. D. (2026) · European Journal of Psychology and Educational Research · doi:10.12973/ejper.9.3.117
Cleared for Takeoff: CEO Attributes and the Successful Exit from Corporate Bankruptcy
Doss, L., Miller, S. R., Aguzzoli, R., & Mcdonald, M. L. (2026) · Journal of Management Inquiry · doi:10.1177/10564926261487340
Archambault, C., & Yacoub, G. (2026) · Journal of Business Strategy · doi:10.1108/jbs-03-2024-0039
Blooming in adversity: resilience as disciplined-opportunity sequencing in underdog founders
Balzano, M., & Trincanato, E. (2026) · International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research · doi:10.1108/ijebr-11-2025-1661
Behbehani, R., & Kaya, D. (2026) · Supply Chain Management An International Journal · doi:10.1108/scm-04-2026-0455
Explainable Decision Support for Financial Resilience Monitoring in State-Owned Energy Enterprises
(2026) · Journal of Logistics Informatics and Service Science · doi:10.33168/jliss.2026.1015
Bao, J., Jiang, Z., Lu, X., & Qin, X. (2026) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.2026.2733981
Pursuing technology sovereignty under dependency: The case of Mistral AI
Truong, Y. (2026) · Technovation · doi:10.1016/j.technovation.2026.103731
Fukushima, M. (2026) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su181910049
Xia, W. (2026) · Rural Sociology · doi:10.1111/ruso.70072
van den Broek, E., & Levina, N. (2026) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.1177/00018392261484887
Rasheed, U. (2026) · UEF eRepo (University of Eastern Finland)
A series of analyses on the factors influencing firms’ adoption and response behavior
Hettler, M. (2024) · Technische Universität Dortmund Eldorado (Technische Universität Dortmund) · doi:10.17877/de290r-24780
Degregori, G. (n.d.) · Institutional Research Information System University of Turin (University of Turin)
Gaining and sustaining legitimacy in the art market in the digital era
Liu, J. (2025) · Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide)
Ramadhani, N. H., Grisselda, N. P., Naumi, N. A., Fajarani, B., & Ayuni, R. F. (2026) · Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat dan Riset Pendidikan · doi:10.31004/jerkin.v5i1.7671
Harima, A., Akter, R., & Periac, F. (2026) · The Journal of Technology Transfer · doi:10.1007/s10961-026-10393-0
Górska, A. M. (2026) · Tertiary Education and Management · doi:10.1007/s11233-026-09187-8
Malik, S., & Nisar, T. M. (2026) · Cogent Social Sciences · doi:10.1080/23311886.2026.2739665
Dynamics of trust in collaborative complex system design
Lakemond, N., & Holmberg, G. (2026) · Kybernetes · doi:10.1108/k-05-2026-1338
Kara, O. (2026) · İş ve İnsan Dergisi · doi:10.18394/iid.1954841
Suryani, I., Miranda, M., & Susanti, I. Z. (2026) · Nusantara Hasana Journal · doi:10.59003/nhj.v6i2.2338
Reinwand, J. P. (2026) · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT)
Liu, Y., Tao, S., Ning, Y., Gao, X., & Zhang, M. (2026) · International Journal of Project Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102922
An entrepreneurial marketing campaign in a technology firm: a longitudinal case study of MetricSci
Hernández, J. E. V., & Robledo-Giraldo, S. (2026) · Interfaces · doi:10.18041/2619-4465/interfaces.2.14063
Petlenko, Y., & Hansen, H. K. (2026) · Crime Law and Social Change · doi:10.1007/s10611-026-10307-z
Anchaliya, N., Sharma, M., Kataria, A., Kumar, S., Jain, D., & Anwar, I. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-11069080/v1
Landoni, M. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7572022
Toward Smart Agrotourism: Co-Creating a Living Lab for Premium Melon Farming
Simanjuntak, O. S., Supriyanta, B., Rustamaji, H. C., & Utami, Y. S. (2026) · RSF Conference Series Engineering and Technology · doi:10.31098/cset.v5i1.1150
Nicholson, J. D., Morland, L., & (Westgate), S. P. (2026) · International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research · doi:10.1108/ijebr-03-2024-0259
Lubbe, J., & Smuts, H. (2026) · Lecture notes in business information processing · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-38498-0_27
How ventures maintain stakeholder support amidst operational legitimacy threats
Murray, A. M., Cohen, S. L., & Iqbal, F. (2026) · Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal · doi:10.1002/sej.70049
From in-company to industry platforms: A process model of B2B platform transformation
Snyder, H., Carlborg, P., & Witell, L. (2026) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2026.10.002
Brand knowledge, organizational roles and buy-in during B2B rebranding
Aagerup, U., Andersson, S., & da Silva, M. A. R. (2026) · Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing · doi:10.1108/jbim-06-2025-0517
Remond, N. (2026) · Knowledge and Process Management · doi:10.1002/kpm.70163
The evolution of relationship management from remote to hybrid work
Andersone, N., Nardelli, G., Vartiainen, M. A., Ipsen, C., & Edwards, K. (2026) · Journal of Management Development · doi:10.1108/jmd-03-2026-0126
Strategic alignment and cooperative sequencing in the emerging generative AI ecosystem
Chen, C. Q., Sun, S. L., & Liu, Y. (2026) · Journal of Open Innovation Technology Market and Complexity · doi:10.1016/j.joitmc.2026.100889
More than a grain of salt: technological substitution and the instability of critical mineral policy
Janjua, R., Vivoda, V., & Xu, C. (2026) · Mineral Economics · doi:10.1007/s13563-026-00717-9
Meta-organizations and Sustainability: Taking Stock
Valente, M. (2026) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/s0733-558x20260000106002
Fracchia, G. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7582958
Producing Ignorance and Irresponsibility: The Process of Meta-organizing in the Tobacco Field
Baldi, M. (2026) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/s0733-558x20260000106011
Lang, G., Schlesinger, T., Keller-Meier, R., Schulz, L., Stieger, R., & Nagel, S. (2026) · Managing Sport and Leisure · doi:10.1080/23750472.2026.2740647
Li, P., & Xue, B. (2026) · Economics and Politics · doi:10.1111/ecpo.70074
Arioka, T., Dehe, B., & Mirzaei, M. (2026) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2026.149676
From Utterances to Official Strategy – Strategizing as a Discursive-Material Process
Rantakari, A., & Holstein, J. (2026) · Management Communication Quarterly · doi:10.1177/08933189261493454
Technology-mediated emergence of a competing logic in a mature field: The case of Bitcoin
Kumar, S., Slepniov, D., & Mackenzie, N. (2026) · Information and Organization · doi:10.1016/j.infoandorg.2026.100649
HUANG, W. (2026) · PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) · doi:10.17613/wgee9-mph76
A System Dynamics Perspective of User Adaptation: The Case of Exoskeleton Technology
Migliano, E. N. (2026) · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida)
Lai, Z., Liang, X., Jiang, C., & Li, Z. (2026) · ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries · doi:10.1145/3805696.3846047
Resource Stewardship Culture and Governance Capability: Evidence from Noi Bai AirportPreprint
Lai, T. A., & Tran, N. H. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7602659
Widiawan, K. (2026) · International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science · doi:10.47772/ijriss.2026.1014mg0197
Jönsson, A., Kronblad, C., & Pemer, F. (2026) · Management Learning · doi:10.1177/13505076261491722
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