Understanding research philosophy and approaches to theory development

Abstract

By the end of this chapter you will be able to: • explain the relevance of ontology, epistemology and axiology to business research; • describe the main research paradigms that are significant for business research; • explain the relevance for business research of philosophical positions such as positivism, critical realism, interpretivism, postmodernism and pragmatism; • reflect on your own epistemological, ontological and axiological stance; • reflect on and articulate your own philosophical position in relation to your research; • distinguish between deductive, inductive, abductive and retroductive approaches to theory development