Food as an Arts-Based Research Method in Business and Management Studies

Abstract

In this chapter Weston and Farber position food as an arts-based research method that can be used to gain an enriched understanding of organizational life. Food is under-researched in business and management studies and the authors address this gap by examining how food intersects with organizational life. The wide and varied ways that food is woven through everyday life at work demonstrates its value as a context that can deepen understanding of organizational engagement. In this chapter Weston and Farber review food research from three perspectives. First, they show how food has been used as a research context for examining social engagement. Second, they document a range of diverse qualitative research methods that have been applied to investigate food practice in the workplace. Third, they examine food as an arts-based research method wherein food is used as a tool to accentuate and enrich social interaction during the research process. Finally, they offer two illustrative examples to highlight their own use of food as an arts-based research method and as a mode of knowledge dissemination. These illustrative examples aim to guide researchers through the process of using food as an arts-based method.