Exploring the Human Condition: A Methodological Literature Review of Fiction-Based Research

Abstract

Fictional narratives are increasingly analyzed by scholars to improve our understanding of the ‘human condition’, because fiction gives access to the deeply personal experiences, perceptions, and struggles of individuals. This methodological literature review explores current fiction-based research practices in organization and management studies, identifies methodological shortcomings, and finds emerging methodological conventions. After searching for fiction-based research in 26 leading organization and management journals, I found 69 articles that used fictional narratives. My analysis demonstrates that fiction is increasingly used by scholars to make theoretical contributions to six research themes: organizational life, leadership and resistance, change, ethics, gender and race, and organizational analysis. Fictional narratives are treated both metaphorically and as representations of organizational reality. The article shows recurring shortcomings in the literature and formulates recommendations for future fiction-based research. Specifically, scholars are encouraged to justify their selection of fictional sources, use multiple fictional narratives, consider including other (qualitative) data, describe the data analysis procedure, and provide longer passages or direct access to present their (fictional) data. While this review focuses on organization and management studies, it aims to be of use to the broad range of scholars in the social sciences and humanities by showing recent developments in fiction-based research and by offering tools to experiment with this innovative method, so that fictional narratives might inspire their work and enrich their research.