Workshops as a Research Method in Business Research

In the ever-evolving business research landscape, workshops are a dynamic, multifaceted, and versatile research method beyond traditional interviews and focus groups. Workshops help researchers collaborate with participants, gathering rich data through shared investigation topics. They are based on interactive sessions where participants discuss current situations, negotiate positions, and envision how situations might evolve. Workshops often use tangible, generative design tools (Chap. 7) and offer a tapestry of data collection forms, including field notes, video and audio recordings, pictures, and products and tangible objects produced in the workshop process. Workshops can also help validate qualitative data collected through interviews (Chap. 5) or enhance insights from focus group interviews by encouraging and facilitating participants to cocreate solutions. This chapter outlines how researchers can apply workshops in a four-phase framework using a case study: diagnosing, planning, facilitating, and analyzing. It delves into interactions among participants, researchers, and facilitators. We discuss their respective roles to support a safe, productive space that delivers value for participants and rich, high-quality research data. Finally, the chapter explores the intricacies of workshop facilitation. It covers the process and challenges of creating and conducting workshops and offers insights to manage interactive sessions for social sciences and business research effectively.