Painting with words: portraiture as an innovative and underutilized qualitative research method for studying organizations and management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the qualitative methodology of portraiture for researching organizations and management issues. Over 30 years old, portraiture has been primarily used in the social sciences but is gaining a foothold in business disciplines. Design/methodology/approach This paper defines portraiture, provides a brief description of the data collection methods, delineates the portraiture process and provides several examples through excerpts from published portraits and doctoral dissertations. Findings Case studies, storytelling, ethnographies, surveys, and interviews are common in the organizational literature, but portraiture has been underutilized by researchers in this field. Portraiture uses descriptive narrative to convey the full essence of the research subject. Emanating from ethnography, portraiture is a qualitative form of inquiry that is well suited for examining organizations and management practices and issues. Originality/value This paper suggests an underutilized qualitative research methodology. Only in the last 10 years have dissertations on business-related topics used portraiture, and even some peer-reviewed articles have been published in respected journals; however portraiture remains quite uncommon. This paper provides a springboard for researchers – especially those who gravitate toward creativity in their efforts – to learn more about this methodology and consider utilizing it in their own research.