The complexities and multiple levels of analysis involved in studying organizational phenomena require clarity in conceptualization and appropriate measurement methods to capture these dynamics. The facet approach can integrate diverse perspectives and address challenges posed by interdisciplinary organizational research.
Facet Theory, a methodology conceived by Professor Louis E. Guttman, is a comprehensive research strategy. Based on set theory, it brings to the social sciences a discipline similar to mathematics and the natural sciences. It offers a formal approach to define the universe of content by uniquely addressing construct clarity and empirical verification for management studies. Relying on qualitative data, it helps generate mathematically derived models that have common structures across different research domains. Thus, Facet Theory helps render objective and quantitative what had previously appeared to be subjective and qualitative. It offers unique procedures for studies characterized by multitudes of interacting variables, promotes the systematic study of configurations, and can help advance cumulative research on organizing in teams, enterprises, or markets.
The chapters in this volume provide recent advances and applications of Facet Theory, demonstrating how it enhances rigor and new insights for organizational research.
The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of International Studies of Management & Organization.
Introduction: Facet Theory in Organizational Research
Esther Solomon
1. Organizational Quality: A Systemic Functioning Theory
Samuel Shye
2. Qualitative Structural Theory: A Basis for Decision-Making
David Canter
3. Work Values and Facet Theory: From Inter-correlations to Individuals
Ingwer Borg, Guido Hertel, Stefan Krumm and Wolfgang Bilsky
4. Pathways to Energy Transition: A Faceted Taxonomy
Gisela Böhm, Rouven Doran, Annika Rødeseike and Hans-Rüdiger Pfister
5. Corporate Governance and Paradoxical Tensions: Leadership Dynamics Through Facet Theory
Esther Solomon and Morten Huse
Biography
Esther Solomon is tenured faculty at the Gabelli School of Business of Fordham University, in New York. Her research and consulting focus on corporate governance, leading change, stakeholder dynamics, and process-oriented innovations. She has expertise in the Facet Theory methodology integrating quantitative and qualitative orientations and was President of the Facet Theory Association.
