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  • August 2021
  • Article
  • Academy of Management Perspectives

The Undervalued Power of Self-relevant Research: The Case of Researching Retirement While Retiring

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Douglas T. (Tim) Hall
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Abstract

For decades, training in management research has emphasized objectivity, typically viewed as an arm’s length distance between the topic of the research and the interests of the researcher. This emphasis has led most scholars to avoid research topics of deep personal relevance – or at least to avoid acknowledging such relevance. We argue that this headlong pursuit of objectivity has led the field to vastly undervalue what we call self-relevant research: immersive field research on a topic with which the researcher has had significant personal experience, and which is important to or part of the researcher’s self-identity. As an illustrative case, we draw on our own current experience in a team of scholars doing self-relevant research on retirement. We argue that an embrace of self-relevant research can enhance the richness, validity, and methodological diversity of management research, and can actually be essential for understanding phenomena that involve unusual experiences, high degrees of emotionality, or identity issues. We discuss the advantages and challenges that arise when researchers have a deeply personal connection to the topic of research, and we describe measures that researchers can take to leverage the advantages and mitigate the challenges of doing such personally relevant research. We also highlight the particular value of engaging in group self-reflection in the course of collaborative research of this type, and discuss implications for both the field and researchers in management science.

Keywords

Qualitative Research Methods; Case Research Methods; Organizational Behavior; Careers; Career Changes And Transitions; Self-relevant Research; Research; Personal Development and Career; Transition; Identity; Retirement

Citation

Amabile, Teresa M., and Douglas T. (Tim) Hall. "The Undervalued Power of Self-relevant Research: The Case of Researching Retirement While Retiring." Academy of Management Perspectives 35, no. 3 (August 2021): 347–366.
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About The Author

Teresa M. Amabile

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

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More from the Authors
  • The Turn Toward Creative Work By: Spencer Harrison, Elizabeth D. Rouse, Colin M. Fisher and Teresa M. Amabile
  • What Do I Make of the Rest of My Life? Global and Quotidian Life Construal across the Retirement Transition By: Jeff Steiner and Teresa M. Amabile
  • How to Help (Without Micromanaging) By: Colin M. Fisher, Teresa M. Amabile and Julianna Pillemer
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