Going green from the inside: Insider action research in Volvo Car Corporation
Journal article, 2006

Various forms of action research have been proposed as remedies for the one-sided focus on theoretical interests existing in Business School research. Among other conceptual elaborations, Insider Action Research (IAR) suggests that action research needs to be supported by an insider's view of activities in order to achieve any substantial contribution to practice and theory. Even though the IAR model is potentially capable of overcoming a number of practical, political, and epistemological problems, it has been explored relatively little in terms of practical examples and lessons. This paper presents the account of an Insider Action researcher at the Volvo Car Corporation, aimed at studying the development of environmental strategies and "eco-benign" automobiles "from the inside". The paper suggests that even though IAR remains a promising model, the political ingenuity and savoir-faire of the insider action researcher must not be underrated.

Project Management

Author

Mats Williander

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Project Management

Alexander Styhre

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Project Management

Systemic Practice and Action Research

1094-429X (ISSN) 1573-9295 (eISSN)

Vol. 19 3 239-252

Subject Categories

Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics

Other Mechanical Engineering

DOI

10.1007/s11213-006-9015-7

More information

Created

10/7/2017