Organizational Ethnographies: An Underutilized Resource in the Sociology of Work

Organizational ethnographies have provided many insights about the nature of work that have subsequently been tested using archival and survey methods. To extend their use from generating ideas to testing theories, I code and analyze data on organizational characteristics and workplace experiences from the existing population of English-language ethnographies (N = 108). The analysis confirms existing understandings, such as the importance of job autonomy for pride and effort. The analysis also generates new findings, including the finding of a positive influence of organizational effectiveness on both coworker relations and relations with management. Methodological checks indicate that data from organizational ethnographies can be coded reliably and without bias. However, the initial ethnographic observations differ somewhat based on ethnographers' theoretical orientations and time spent in the field. The article concludes with a discussion of possible extensions of the analysis to other subfields in sociology that have accumulated bodies of ethnographic observation.