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120 THE RESEARCH PROCESS

for subsequent testing. For example, Henry Mintzberg interviewed managers to
explore the nature of managerial work. Based on the analysis of his interview
data, he formulated theories of managerial roles, the nature and types of man-
agerial activities, and so on. These have been tested in different settings
through both interviews and questionnaire surveys.
Exploratory studies are also necessary when some facts are known, but more
information is needed for developing a viable theoretical framework. For
instance, when we want to get at the important factors that influence the
advancement of women in organizations, previous studies might indicate that
women are increasingly taking on qualities such as assertiveness, competitive-
ness, and independence. There is also a perception that a judicious blend of mas-
culine and feminine traits—such as being strong but not tough, kind but not
soft—is conducive to women’s organizational advancement. These notions apart,
there is a need for interviewing women managers who have made it to the top
to explore all the relevant variables. This will help to build a robust theory.
In sum, exploratory studies are important for obtaining a good grasp of the
phenomena of interest and advancing knowledge through subsequent theory
building and hypothesis testing.
The following is an example where exploratory research would be necessary.

Example 6.1 The manager of a multinational corporation is curious to know if the work ethic
values of employees working in its subsidiary in Pennathur City would be dif-
ferent from those of Americans. There is very little information about Pennathur
(except that it is a small city in southern India), and since there is considerable
controversy about what work ethic values mean to people in other cultures, the
manager’s curiosity can be satisfied only by an exploratory study, interviewing
the employees in organizations in Pennathur. Religion, political, economic, and
social conditions, upbringing, cultural values, and so on play a major role in how
people view their work in different parts of the world. Here, since very little is
known about work ethic values in India (or even if it is a viable concept for study
in that country, as per discussions in a later chapter), an exploratory study will
have to be undertaken.
Many topics of interest and concern to management in the management and
organizational behavior areas have been studied, and information is available in
the library on these subject areas. Although few exploratory studies are currently
undertaken in the management area, researchers do explore new grounds from
time to time with the changing dynamics that occur at the workplace. Not long
ago, for instance, exploratory research on the topics of women in management
and dual career families was conducted. Because of subsequent studies, research
on these topics has now progressed beyond the exploratory stage to the hypoth-
esis testing stage.
The same is also true of research on quality of life. At one time, exploratory
studies were undertaken to understand what the concept quality of work life
means. After extensive interviews with various groups of people, it was consid-
ered to encompass such factors as enriched jobs, healthy work environment,