A Paradox Approach to Navigating the Tensions of Ethnographic Research

Abstract

Ethnographers embedded in organizational settings are confronted with competing expectations and tensions. By building on the scholarly work on paradox theory, we draw from our experiences conducting ethnography and from the narratives of other organizational ethnographers and offer insights on what we call “paradoxes of ethnography”. Additionally, we offer a guiding framework to aid organizational ethnographers, by increasing current understanding of the challenges and opportunities of ethnographic research. Thereby, we contribute to methodological conversations around ethnography and highlight coping mechanisms known in paradox research.