Grounded theory and leadership research: a critical realist perspective Kempster, S and Parry, K W 2011, Grounded theory and leadership research: a critical realist perspective, Leadership Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 106-120, doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.12.010. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Grounded theory and leadership research: a critical realist perspective Author(s) Kempster, S Parry, K W orcid.org/0000-0002-5837-2873 Journal name Leadership Quarterly Volume number 22 Issue number 1 Start page 106 End page 120 Total pages 15 Publisher Elsevier Place of publication Amsterdam, The Netherlands Publication date 2011-02 ISSN 1048-9843 Keyword(s) Critical realism Grounded theory Leadership Summary The methodology of grounded theory has great potential to contribute to our understanding of leadership within particular substantive contexts. However, our notions of good science might constrain these contributions. We argue that for grounded theorists a tension might exist between a desire to create a contextualised theory of leadership and a desire for scientifically justified issues of validity and generalizable theory. We also explore how the outcome of grounded theory research can create a dissonance between theories that resonate with the reality they are designed to explore, and the theories that resonate with a particular yet dominant 'scientific' approach in the field of leadership studies - the philosophy of science commonly known as positivism. We examine the opportunities provided by an alternative philosophy of science, that of critical realism. We explore how conducting grounded theory research informed by critical realism might strengthen researchers' confidence to place emphasis on an understanding and explanation of contextualised leadership as a scientific goal, rather than the scientific goal of generalization through empirical replication. Two published accounts of grounded theory are critiqued candidly to help emphasise our arguments. We conclude by suggesting how critical realism can help shape and enhance grounded theory research into the phenomenon of leadership. © 2010. Language eng DOI 10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.12.010 Field of Research 159999 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services not elsewhere classified Socio Economic Objective 970115 Expanding Knowledge in Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2011, Elsevier Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30067707 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Business and Law Deakin Business School Related Links Link Description Connect to Elements publication management system Go to link with your DU access privileges   Connect to published version Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Mon, 24 Nov 2014, 21:29:49 EST Tue, 25 Nov 2014, 04:02:52 EST Tue, 25 Nov 2014, 11:12:50 EST Thu, 04 Dec 2014, 05:05:38 EST Fri, 05 Dec 2014, 09:33:51 EST Fri, 05 Dec 2014, 09:35:09 EST Fri, 05 Dec 2014, 09:38:25 EST Fri, 05 Dec 2014, 09:43:00 EST Fri, 05 Dec 2014, 09:43:35 EST Fri, 05 Dec 2014, 09:44:15 EST Fri, 05 Dec 2014, 09:48:48 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 81 times in TR Web of Science Cited 92 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 289 Abstract Views, 2 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Mon, 24 Nov 2014, 21:29:49 EST