Abstract:

In management literature, qualitative research has received limited attention. Many scholars undermine the importance of qualitative research as a method that lacks generalizability and objectivity. This paper argues that qualitative research promotes the development of compelling and rigorous and field research only if it is followed by quantitative research to confirm the findings on a large population. I delineate that qualitative research using grounded theory that followed by a quantitative approach is crucial when the state of prior work is nascent and there is no prior work on the construct and process under investigation and it is the optimal research design for new field scholars. I discuss the implications of the sequential exploratory research design for educating new field researchers.