Looking desperately for courage or how to study a polysemic concept

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to propose an approach using mixed methods appropriate for studying polysemic concepts.Design methodology approach - Anchored in cognitive approaches, the methods relied on a generally applicable conceptual framework, on cognitive mapping for an intellectuali...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Qualitative research in organizations and management 2012-08, Vol.7 (2), p.166-188
Main Authors: Harbour, Michelle, Kisfalvi, Veronika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive models
Data collection
Emotions
Managers
Methods
Qualitative research
R&D
Research & development
Semantics
Studies
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Summary:Purpose - The purpose of this article is to propose an approach using mixed methods appropriate for studying polysemic concepts.Design methodology approach - Anchored in cognitive approaches, the methods relied on a generally applicable conceptual framework, on cognitive mapping for an intellectualized conception, and on in-depth interviews for an experiential conception on different participants' judgments of managerial courage within the same context.Findings - The mixed methods approach allowed the study first, to uncover two kinds of managerial courage. Second, while the intellectualized conceptions led to the enumeration of a greater number of positive consequences for third parties, the conceptions resulting from recollections of experiences focused more on the consequences for the protagonist. Third, the conceptual framework allowed the authors to distinguish between the results obtained from the two distinct data collection methods: the moral dimension, present in the more intellectualized cognitive maps, was largely absent from the consequences identified by participants in the conception of managerial courage resulting from experience.Originality value - This approach has provided two original methodological contributions. The first is the development of a widely applicable conceptual framework useful for studying polysemic concepts and for treating data generated by both approaches. The second is the distinction between conceptions of courage obtained from cognitive maps and those obtained through semi-structured, in-depth interviews, highlighting the complementarity of the chosen methods.
ISSN:1746-5648
1746-5656
DOI:10.1108/17465641211253084