Grounded Theory

Grounded theory is a commonly used approach to analyzing qualitative data in management studies. It was originally developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss in the 1960s as a means of generating middle-range theories in sociology, and it has since moved across disciplines and developed in different versions (e.g., Glasserian, Straussian, constructivist grounded theory). Grounded theory seeks to construct theory that emerges from the data (i.e., theory “grounded” in data), and is characterized by an iterative process in which the researcher constantly compares the emerging theory, the data, and existing literature, engages in theoretical sampling, and strives for theoretical saturation of the data.