On the adaptation of Grounded Theory procedures: insights from the evolution of the 2G method

Abstract

PurposeTo articulate the interpretations and adaptations of Grounded Theory made within the 2G method, and the motivations behind them.Design/methodology/approachLiterature review and conceptual approach reflecting on the authors' experience of having developed the 2G method.FindingsIdentifies six adaptations of Grounded Theory as being of particular interest. Five relate to method procedures, namely: developing a core category; coding interview data; exposing evolving theories to stakeholders; developing multiple concept frameworks; and inter‐linking concepts. The sixth relates to expectations on method users, and the tension between expertise relating to the phenomenon being analysed, and openness in interpreting the data.Research limitations/implicationsShows how Grounded Theory procedures have been adapted and used in IS methods. Specifically, the paper illustrates and makes explicit how a specific method (the 2G method) has evolved.Practical implicationsProvides insights for users of Grounded Theory (GT) and developers of IS methods on how GT procedures have been interpreted and adapted in previous and the authors' own research.Originality/valueProvides insights into how Grounded Theory (GT) procedures have been adapted for use in other IS methods, with insights from the authors' own experience of having developed the 2G method. Reflects on the use of GT procedures in a number of case studies related to tool evaluation. Identifies six areas in which specific interpretations or adaptations of GT were considered necessary in the contexts in which the studies were undertaken, and justifies these six departures from standard interpretations of GT procedures.