Article Practitioners as Theorists: Para-ethnography and the Collaborative Study of Contemporary Organizations

Para-ethnography involves collaboration with organization members who are themselves producers of cultural analysis rather than sources of raw data. It begins from the premise that contemporary workplaces involve internal theorizing that, although distinct from academic theorizing, can inform and ground organizational theory. Modern organizations, as highly professionalized, and based on conceptual design and legitimation, are a natural match for para-ethnographic methods, which have nevertheless been absent from organizational scholarship. As part of a general revisionist program in ethnographic theory, para-ethnography offers a way of reconceptualizing the role of the researcher, the nature of cultural knowledge, and the spatial boundaries of culture. After describing the simila-rities and differences between revisionist ethnographic approaches, I outline how para-ethnography differs from other forms of ethnography in practice. Finally, I discuss the challenges and opportuni-ties of para-ethnography, suggesting that this methodological development may form part of a larger reconceptualization of the relation between theory and practice, and offering practical mechanics to ground such a reconceptualization. Keywords ethnography, qualitative research, critical theory, qualitative research, qualitative research, participant observation, qualitative research, field research methods, research design With the rise of the knowledge economy, and increasing ethnographic interest in scientific, creative, and other knowledge-based sectors (cf. Mills & Ratcliffe, 2012), organizational ethnographers are increasingly entering sites where their informants are themselves analysts and theorists of culture (Rabinow, Marcus, Faubion, & Rees, 2008). Professional managers, technicians, and other analyti-cal workers are taking on roles in which organizational theory and research methods are require