Methodological
Historical research in entrepreneurship is also about methodological variety. This section articulates the distinct epistemologies and narrative strategies that define historical inquiry. It calls for greater reflexivity, source criticism, and methodological pluralism, positioning history as a way of reasoning about agency, context, and change.
Introduction
Historical methods remain comparatively under-articulated in management and organization scholarship. While history is sometimes mischaracterized as “atheoretical,” this view overlooks the rich tradition of theory of history and longstanding methodological debates within the discipline. What differentiates historical research is not the absence of theory, but its distinct epistemological orientation and craft-based approach.
Unlike many social science methodologies, historical research does not treat evidence as data directly observed, but rather as sources: traces of the past that must be interpreted, contextualized, and reconstructed. Historians approach their material with the understanding that meaning is not intrinsic to events or documents but is produced through narrative explanation, grounded in time and place.
While historical inquiry often involves inductive reasoning from cases, it is not purely inductive. Historians reflect critically on their positionality, recognizing that their temporal distance from the events they study shapes both their interpretations and the questions they ask. They approach the past with an agenda, and that agenda has methodological and theoretical implications for how histories are constructed and communicated.
What distinguishes the historian’s “community of practice” is the attention to narrative, temporality, and interpretation as central to explanation. Yet these practices are rarely articulated in ways that translate easily to management or entrepreneurship scholars, who often work with different assumptions about theory, causality, and generalization. Bridging these communities requires a more explicit conversation about historical methodology, not just as a technique, but as a mode of reasoning that offers unique insights into change, context, and agency.
Key References
Decker, S., Foster, W., & Giovannoni, E. (Eds.). 2023. Handbook of Historical Methods for Management. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar
A comprehensive collection that surveys diverse historical methodologies applied in management research. Covers archival work, narrative analysis, digital history, and reflexivity, offering practical and conceptual guidance.
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Yates, J. 2014. Understanding Historical Methods in Organization Studies. In M. Bucheli, & R. D. Wadhwani (Eds.), Organizations in Time: History, Theory, Methods: 265-283. New York: Oxford University Press.
Provides an accessible introduction to historical methodology for organizational scholars. Emphasizes the logic of narrative explanation and the role of archival sources in constructing historical arguments.
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Nix, A., & Decker, S. 2023. Using Digital Sources: The Future of Business History? Business History, 65(6): 1048-1071.
Discusses how digital archives and tools are reshaping the practice of business history. Offers methodological insight into integrating digital sources while maintaining historical rigor.
Pillai, S. D., Goldfarb, B., & Kirsch, D. 2024. Lovely and Likely: Using Historical Methods to Improve Inference to the Best Explanation in Strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 45(8): 1539-1566.
Argues for the use of historical methods to strengthen causal inference in strategy research. The authors show how narrative reasoning and source triangulation improve explanatory rigor and theory development.
Heller, M. 2023. Rethinking Historical Methods in Organization Studies: Organizational Source Criticism. Organization Studies, 44(6): 987-1002. 10.1177/01708406231156978.
Introduces “organizational source criticism” as a framework for critically engaging with historical materials. Highlights issues of bias, authorship, and context in interpreting organizational archives.
Kipping, M., Wadhwani, R. D., & Bucheli, M. 2014. Analyzing and Interpreting Historical Sources: A Basic Methodology. In M. Bucheli, & R. D. Wadhwani (Eds.), Organizations in Time: History, Theory, Methods: 305-329. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Offers a step-by-step guide to working with historical sources in management and organizational research. Covers source triangulation, interpretation, and contextualization.
Decker, S., Kirsch, D.A., Kuppili Venkata, S. et al. 2022. Finding light in dark archives: using AI to connect context and content in email. AI & Soc 37, 859–872.
Explores the use of artificial intelligence to analyze unstructured digital archives. Demonstrates how computational methods can enhance historical inquiry without replacing interpretive judgment.
Decker, S. 2013. The Silence of the Archives: Business History, Post-Colonialism and Archival Ethnography. Management and Organizational History, 8(2): 155-173.
Reflects on the limitations and absences in archival records, particularly in post-colonial contexts. Introduces “archival ethnography” as a method for critically reading both content and silence in historical sources.
Maclean, M., Harvey, C., & Clegg, S. 2016. Conceptualizing Historical Organization Studies. Academy of Management Review, 41(4): 609-632.
A foundational piece outlining the theoretical and epistemological basis of historical organization studies. Argues for narrative, contextual, and temporally embedded approaches to theorizing.
Vaara, E., & Lamberg, J.-A. 2016. Taking Historical Embeddedness Seriously: Three Historical Approaches to Advance Strategy Process and Practice Research. Academy of Management Review, 41(4): 633-657.
Compares narrative, contextual, and processual approaches to integrating history in strategy research. Advocates for deeper historical embedding in understanding organizational change and decision-making.
Bloch, M. 1954. The Historian's Craft. Oxford and New York: Manchester University Press.
A classic meditation on the nature of historical inquiry by a founder of the Annales school. Offers timeless insights into evidence, causality, and the role of the historian.
Carr, E. H. 1961. What is History? London, New York: Macmillan.
A foundational text on the philosophy of history. Challenges positivist assumptions and emphasizes history as a dialogical process between past and present.
Gaddis, J. L. 2002. The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past. New York: Oxford University Press.
A lucid introduction to historical thinking for non-historians. Explains key concepts like contingency, structure, and narrative with clarity and wit.
Phillips, M. S. 2015. On Historical Distance. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.
Explores the epistemological implications of historical distance. Offers a philosophical reflection on how time mediates historical knowledge and interpretation.