A Content Analysis of the Content Analysis Literature in Organization Studies: Research Themes, Data Sources, and Methodological Refinements

We use content analysis to examine the content analysis literature in organization studies. Given the benefits of content analysis, it is no surprise that its use in organization studies has been growing in the course of the past 25 years (Erdener & Dunn, 1990; Jauch, Osborn, & Martin 1980). First, we review the principles and the advantages associated with the method. Then, we assess how the methodology has been applied in the literature in terms of research themes, data sources, and methodological refinements. Although content analysis has been applied to research topics across the subdomains of management research, research in strategy and managerial cognition have yielded particularly interesting results. We conclude with suggestions for enhancing the utility of content analytic methods in organization studies.

[1]  J. Morse.  Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed): Mathew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1994. Price: $65.00 hardback, $32.00 paperback. 238 pp , 1996 .

[2]  Lawrence R. Jauch,et al.  THE EVENT OF CEO SUCCESSION, PERFORMANCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS , 1981 .

[3]  Donald D. Bergh,et al.  Measuring and testing change in strategic management research , 2002 .

[4]  Robert J. Myers,et al.  Business Speaks: A Study of the Themes in Speeches by America's Corporate Leaders , 1980 .

[5]  J. Belohlav,et al.  Corporate speeches as a source of corporate values: An analysis across years, themes, and industries , 1983 .

[6]  Robert Philip Weber,et al.  Dynamics of culture , 1986 .

[7]  D. Gentner,et al.  Avoiding Missed Opportunities in Managerial Life: Analogical Training More Powerful Than Individual Case Training , 2000 .

[8]  Danny Miller,et al.  The simplicity of competitive repertoires : An empirical analysis , 1996 .

[9]  Linda Shields,et al.  Content Analysis , 2015 .

[10]  Barbara Bigelow,et al.  Presenting Structural Innovation in an Institutional Environment: Hospitals' Use of Impression Management , 2000 .

[11]  A. Parry.  Handbook of Qualitative Research , 2002 .

[12]  C. Fiol.  Corporate Communications: Comparing Executives' Private and Public Statements , 1995 .

[13]  Lawrence R. Jauch,et al.  Structured Content Analysis of Cases: A Complementary Method for Organizational Research , 1980 .

[14]  Joseph F. Porac,et al.  Are more resources always better for growth? Resource stickiness in market and product expansion , 2004 .

[15]  Max Chen.  Competitor analysis and interfirm riva-lry: toward a theoretical integration , 1996 .

[16]  Carl W. Roberts,et al.  Text analysis for the social sciences : methods for drawing statistical inferences from texts and transcripts , 1997 .

[17]  Donald D. Bergh,et al.  Assessment and redirection of longitudinal analysis : Demonstration with a study of the diversification and divestiture relationship , 1997 .

[18]  D. Hambrick,et al.  Attentional homogeneity in industries: the effect of discretion , 1997 .

[19]  Robert W. Ingram,et al.  Narrative disclosures in annual reports , 1983 .

[20]  Walter J. Ferrier.  Navigating the Competitive Landscape: The Drivers and Consequences of Competitive Aggressiveness , 2001 .

[21]  Norihiko Suzuki,et al.  The Changing Patterns of Advertising Strategy by Japanese Business Firms in the U.S. Market: Content Analysis , 1980 .

[22]  Boris Kabanoff,et al.  Introduction Computers can read as well as count: Computer-aided text analysis in organizational research , 1997 .

[23]  David Guest,et al.  Methods of coping with stress at work: A conceptual analysis and empirical study of measurement issues , 1990 .

[24]  Renata Tesch,et al.  Qualitative research : analysis types and software tools , 1990 .

[25]  J. Meindl,et al.  Corporate attributions as strategic illusions of management control. , 1984 .

[26]  Walter J. Ferrier,et al.  The Role of Competitive Action in Market Share Erosion and Industry Dethronement: A Study of Industry Leaders and Challengers , 1999 .

[27]  Curtis M. Grimm,et al.  Strategy as action : industry rivalry and coordination , 1997 .

[28]  Jiing-Lih Farh,et al.  Special Issue on Corporate Transformation in the People's Republic of China: Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the People's Republic of China , 2004, Organ. Sci..

[29]  C. Fombrun,et al.  What's in a Name? Reputation Building and Corporate Strategy , 1990 .

[30]  Martin Freedman,et al.  Pollution disclosures, pollution performance and economic performance , 1982 .

[31]  R. Ingram,et al.  ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE AND CORPORATE DISCLOSURE , 1980 .

[32]  John A. Haslem,et al.  The President's Letter to Stockholders: A New Look , 1986 .

[33]  Klaus Krippendorff,et al.  Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology , 1980 .

[34]  Joseph F. Porac,et al.  Worth, words, and the justification of executive pay , 1997 .

[35]  Michael R. Lissack.  Concept Sampling: A New Twist for Content Analysis , 1998 .

[36]  Achilles A. Armenakis,et al.  Measuring Emotion in Open-ended Survey Responses: An Application of Textual Data Analysis , 1995 .

[37]  Robert Waldersee,et al.  Espoused Values and Organizational Change Themes , 1995 .

[38]  Barry M. Staw,et al.  The Justification of Organizational Performance. , 1983 .

[39]  Jeffrey C. Kohles,et al.  Charting the language of leadership: a methodological investigation of President Bush and the crisis of 9/11. , 2004, The Journal of applied psychology.

[40]  Richard T. Mowday,et al.  Celebrating 40 years of the Academy of Management Journal , 1997 .

[41]  Boris Kabanoff,et al.  Changes in the espoused values of Australian organizations 1986—1990 , 1996 .

[42]  Barbara B. Ellis,et al.  Differential item functioning: implications for test translations , 1989 .

[43]  H. H. Kassarjian.  Content Analysis in Consumer Research , 1977 .

[44]  Lawrence R. Jauch,et al.  Short term financial success in large business organizations: The environment‐strategy connection , 1980 .

[45]  Ian Palmer,et al.  Managerial accounts of downsizing , 1997 .

[46]  P. Barr,et al.  Cognitive change, strategic action, and organizational renewal , 1992 .

[47]  Carl W. Roberts,et al.  Other Than Counting Words: A Linguistic Approach to Content Analysis , 1989 .

[48]  Bernard J. White,et al.  Corporate Codes of Conduct , 1980 .

[49]  B. Schneider,et al.  A passion for service: Using content analysis to explicate service climate themes. , 1992 .

[50]  T. Scandura,et al.  Research Methodology In Management: Current Practices, Trends, And Implications For Future Research , 2000 .

[51]  James D. Westphal,et al.  Accounting for the Explanations of CEO Compensation: Substance and Symbolism , 1995 .

[52]  R. Bühner,et al.  THE INFORMATION CONTENT OF CORPORATE DISCLOSURES OF DIVISIONALIZATION DECISIONS [1] , 1985 .

[53]  Dennis A. Gioia,et al.  Mapping Strategic Thought. , 1992 .

[54]  Richard B. Chase,et al.  Constructing an empirically derived measure for customer contact , 1995 .

[55]  Eric Abrahamson,et al.  Concealment of Negative Organizational Outcomes: An Agency Theory Perspective , 1994 .

[56]  Dennis A. Gioia,et al.  Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation , 1991 .

[57]  J. Hooley.  Data in Search of a Theory. , 1986 .

[58]  Robert P. Gephart,et al.  Qualitative Data Analysis: Three Microcomputer-Supported Approaches. , 1989 .

[59]  Kathleen M. Carley.  Extracting team mental models through textual analysis , 1997 .

[60]  P. Schnurr,et al.  Content analysis: a comparison of manual and computerized systems. , 1990, Journal of personality assessment.

[61]  Paul Dupuis,et al.  Computer-Aided Qualitative Data Analysis: Theory, Methods and Practice , 1995 .

[62]  N. Schmitt,et al.  Work motivation in a developing country. , 1983 .

[63]  D. Hambrick,et al.  Speed, Stealth, and Selective Attack: How Small Firms Differ From Large Firms in Competitive Behavior , 1995 .

[64]  D. C. Gash,et al.  Cultures of culture: Academics, practitioners and the pragmatics of normative control , 1988 .

[65]  J. Wiseman,et al.  An evaluation of environmental disclosures made in corporate annual reports , 1982 .

[66]  K. Weick.  FROM SENSEMAKING IN ORGANIZATIONS , 2021, The New Economic Sociology.

[67]  R. Gephart.  The textual approach: Risk and blame in disaster sensemaking , 1993 .

[68]  G. Altmann.  Science and Linguistics , 1993 .

[69]  Thomas Johnson,et al.  Computer-facilitated Qualitative Data Analysis: Potential Contributions to Management Research , 1993 .

[70]  E. Sapir.  Grading, A Study in Semantics , 1944, Philosophy of Science.

[71]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  The Evolution of Organization Analysis in ASQ, 1959-1979. , 1980 .

[72]  Jane V. Wheeler,et al.  MANAGING FROM THE BOUNDARY: THE EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP OF SELF-MANAGING WORK TEAMS. , 2001 .

[73]  R. Gephart.  Hazardous measures: an interpretive textual analysis of quantitative sensemaking during crises , 1997 .

[74]  Marilyn Tallerico.  Applications of qualitative analysis software: A view from the field , 1991 .

[75]  Manju K. Ahuja,et al.  Socialization in Virtual Groups , 2003 .

[76]  C. Marlene Fiol,et al.  A Semiotic Analysis of Corporate Language: Organizational Boundaries and Joint Venturing , 1989 .

[77]  E. Woodrum.  “Mainstreaming” content analysis in social science: Methodological advantages, obstacles, and solutions☆ , 1984 .

[78]  Donald D. Bergh,et al.  Problems with Repeated Measures Analysis: Demonstration with A Study of the Diversification and Performance Relationship , 1995 .

[79]  R. Weber.  Basic content analysis, 2nd ed. , 1990 .

[80]  M. Hitt,et al.  Construct measurement in strategic management research: illusion or reality? , 2005 .

[81]  Arieh A. Ullmann.  Data in Search of a Theory: A Critical Examination of the Relationships Among Social Performance, Social Disclosure, and Economic Performance of U.S. Firms , 1985 .

[82]  Ken G. Smith,et al.  “Austrian” and Industrial Organization Perspectives on Firm-level Competitive Activity and Performance , 1996 .

[83]  Charlie L. Reeve,et al.  Refining Lodahl and Kejner’s Job Involvement Scale with a Convergent Evidence Approach: Applying Multiple Methods to Multiple Samples , 2001 .

[84]  Anne Sigismund Huff,et al.  Industry influences on strategy reformulation , 1982 .

[85]  Karen A. Jehn,et al.  Analyzing harsh words in a sensitive setting: American expatriates in communist China , 1997 .

[86]  Curtis M. Grimm,et al.  Timing, order and durability of new product advantages with imitation , 2000 .

[87]  Steve W. J. Kozlowski,et al.  Employee perceptions on the implementation of robotic manufacturing technology. , 1986 .

[88]  Nigel Fielding,et al.  Computer analysis and qualitative research , 1998 .

[89]  K. Frazier,et al.  A METHODOLOGY FOR THE ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE ACCOUNTING DISCLOSURES , 1984 .

[90]  L. Smircich,et al.  Voicing Seduction to Silence Leadership , 1991 .

[91]  Tony Simons,et al.  Speech Patterns and the Concept of Utility in Cognitive Maps: The Case of Integrative Bargaining , 1993 .

[92]  P. Bobko,et al.  Toward Innovation and Diversity in Management Research Methods , 1993 .

[93]  Danny Miller,et al.  SOURCES AND CONSEQUENCES OF COMPETITIVE INERTIA: A STUDY OF THE U.S. AIRLINE INDUSTRY. , 1994 .

[94]  Chao-chuan Chen,et al.  The Construction of Leadership Images in the Popular Press: The Case of Donald Burr and People Express. , 1991 .

[95]  Fred R. David,et al.  Communication effectiveness of organizational mission statements , 1986 .

[96]  Theresa S. Cho,et al.  The Influence of Top Management Team Heterogeneity on Firms' Competitive Moves , 1996 .

[97]  Barton A. Weitz,et al.  Attributions in the Board Room: Causal Reasoning in Corporate Annual Reports , 1983 .

[98]  Robert L. Dipboye,et al.  RESEARCH SETTINGS IN INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY: FACTS, FALLACIES, AND THE FUTURE1,2,3 , 1981 .

[99]  D. R. Dalton,et al.  Research Methodology in Organizational Studies , 1987 .

[100]  Mark W. Dirsmith,et al.  Strategy, external communication and environmental context , 1983 .

[101]  D. Gulley,et al.  The Impact of Decision Models on Federal Coal Leasing , 1985 .

[102]  J. Pearce,et al.  Corporate Mission Statements: The Bottom Line , 1987 .

[103]  Kathleen M. Carley.  Coding Choices for Textual Analysis: A Comparison of Content Analysis and Map Analysis , 1993 .

[104]  J. D. Osborne,et al.  Strategic groups and competitive enactment: a study of dynamic relationships between mental models and performance , 2001 .

[105]  Günter Köhnken,et al.  The cognitive interview and the assessment of the credibility of adults' statements. , 1995 .

[106]  James D. Thompson.  Organizations in Action , 1967 .

[107]  William G. Roy,et al.  The Process of Bureaucratization in the U.S. State Department and the Vesting of Economic Interests, 1886-1905. , 1981 .

[108]  Amy Kenworthy-U'Ren,et al.  A hierarchical taxonomy of top managers' goals. , 2002, The Journal of applied psychology.

[109]  Charles R. Schwenk,et al.  Self‐serving attributions, managerial cognition, and company performance , 1991 .

[110]  Richard A. D'Aveni,et al.  Crisis and the Content of Managerial Communications: A Study of the Focus of Attention of Top Managers in Surviving and Failing Firms. , 1990 .

[111]  Steve W. J. Kozlowski,et al.  "Employee perceptions on the implementation of robotic manufacturing technology": Correction to Chao and Kozlowski. , 1986 .

[112]  Ming-Jer Chen,et al.  Nonresponse and Delayed Response to Competitive Moves: The Roles of Competitor Dependence and Action Irreversibility , 1992 .

[113]  Mark D. Choudhari.  The dynamics of competitive strategy , 1997 .

[114]  A. Marcus,et al.  Victims and Shareholders: The Dilemmas of Presenting Corporate Policy During A Crisis , 1991 .

[115]  Robert P. Gephart,et al.  Making Sense of Organizationally Based Environmental Disasters , 1984 .

[116]  Ken G. Smith,et al.  Action characteristics as predictors of competitive responses , 1992 .

[117]  Rebecca J. Morris,et al.  Computerized Content Analysis in Management Research: A Demonstration of Advantages & Limitations , 1994 .

[118]  Randy Hodson,et al.  Organizational Trustworthiness: Findings from the Population of Organizational Ethnographies , 2004, Organ. Sci..

[119]  Ken G. Smith,et al.  Organizational Information Processing, Competitive Responses, and Performance in the U.S. Domestic Airline Industry , 1991 .

[120]  Eben A. Weitzman,et al.  Computer Programs for Qualitative Data Analysis , 1996 .

[121]  Richard N. Osborn,et al.  Research Notes. THE EVENT OF CEO SUCCESSION, PERFORMANCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. , 1981 .

[122]  F. David.  How companies define their mission , 1989 .

[123]  Milton D. Hakel,et al.  Effects of trainee-generated versus trainer-provided rule codes on generalization in behavior-modeling training. , 1986 .

[124]  Peter C. Hill,et al.  Letters of recommendation: A question of value. , 1981 .