Insider action research projects - Implications for practising managers

Managers are increasingly undertaking action research projects in their own organizations. Action research involves opportunistic planned intervention s in real time situations and a study of those interventions as they occur which in turn informs further interventions. Insider action research has it s own dynamics, which distinguish it from an external action researcher app roach. The manager-researchers are already immersed in the organization and have a preunderstanding from being an actor in the processes being studied . Challenges facing such manager-researchers are that they need to combine their action research role with their regular organizational rob and this r ole duality can create the potential for role ambiguity and conflict. They need to manage the political dynamics, which involves balancing the organiz ation's formal justification of what it wants in the project with their own tactical personal justification for the project. Manager-researchers' preu nderstanding, organizational role and ability to manage organizational poli tics play an important rob in the political process of framing and selectin g their action research project. In order that the action research project contribute to the organization's learning, the manager-action researcher en gages in interlard processes engaging individuals, teams, the inter-departm ental group and the organization in processes of learning and change. Consi deration of these challenges enables manager-action researchers to grasp th e opportunities such research projects afford for personal learning, organi zational learning and contribution to knowledge.