Research on Organizational Change Using the Retrospective Questionnaire Method: Throwing the Baby Out with the Bathwater?
Research on Organizational Change Using the Retrospective Questionnaire Method: Throwing the Baby Out with the Bathwater?

Summary/Abstract: RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The study aims to identify the reasons why discussion about questionnaire-based research using retrospective questions have disappeared from the management literature and to assess whether this decline is justified. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The research question is: why have researchers for over a decade avoided using questionnaires containing retrospective questions, despite the lack of alternative methods for studying organizational change? The study includes a review of literature, a survey of expert opinions on the wording of questions about organizational change, and an empirical test of two possible ways of asking such questions. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The essence of retrospective research and its significance for analyzing the dynamics of organizational change are presented. The literature on retrospective research methodology is reviewed, and the findings from the expert opinion survey and the empirical comparison of two question formats are discussed. RESEARCH RESULTS: A hypothesis is proposed to explain the observed discontinuation of organizational change research using the retrospective questionnaire method. The legitimacy of the criticism that this method has faced is challenged. Recommendations are presented for designing retrospective questions in research questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The criticism of retrospective questions in questionnaires has been excessive and largely unjustified. The study recommends continuing the use of such tools, provided that the methodological rigor is maintained.

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