DRAWING NEW ROUTES: WHY A QUALITATIVE STANCE IN WORK AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY'S RESEARCH

The paper addresses the debate about the relevance of qualitative inquiry for research within Work and Organizational Psychology (WOP), claiming for the assumption of a methodological pluralism to inspire new research for the production of critical and relevant knowledge. In the first part the authors depict the progressive emersion of qualitative approach in WOP as applied science, pointing out some epistemological, gnoseological, and methodological implications. In the second part, the most distinctive features of the qualitative approach are underlined, dealing with the social and material dimensions that contribute to the production of the required knowledge. Four distinctive dimensions are outlined: the social configuration of the objects of inquiry; the logic of knowing from within; research questions stemming from the field; the transformative stance of the generated knowledge. The final considerations advocate for the enhancement of plural and legitimated ways of conceiving the production of knowledge, its recognition, and its dissemination.