The Phenomena to Theory Roadmap: Illustrated through a Phenomenological Case Study

Phenomena Driven Research (PDR) is valuable to the researcher because its focus is the discovery of reality rather than the explanation of existing theory. The author suggests that the future of management theory is not the application of theory, but the development of theory from observations in the real. Empirical patterns within themes that emerge from grounded interpretations generated by PDR can be transformed into theory that can be applied purposively. To illustrate, this phenomenological case study explores the application of PDR through a discussion about an organizational transformation. This transformation is referenced to show how phenomena can be captured, coded, relationally mapped, and then turned into propositions for application.