17847: Fitting In, Standing Out and Doing Both When Doing Qualitative Research in Emerging Markets

It is the work of scholars to both “fit in” and to “stand out” (Ismail et al., 2020). They need to demonstrate an awareness of conventions in the field, and to build on prior research, i.e. to fit in. At the same time, they need to stand out by making a unique contribution. Qualitative research offers scholars of emerging markets a way to investigate and theorize the many topics that are often under-represented in the scholarly world (Barnard, 2025). But this poses a challenge. In the emerging market context, it often happens that so much is new that it is almost impossible to “fit in”. How do scholars navigate that tension as they research novel topics in novel contexts, and “do both”? In this panel, we bring together experienced researchers to share their firsthand experience of conducting qualitative research across a range of business and management fields in emerging market settings. They will share their stories of challenges, coping strategies and lessons learned. Throughout, they will reflect on what they had to do “fit into” the scholarly narrative, and where they had to “stand out” and show what was unique and relevant about their contexts. Importantly, they show the value of “doing both”. These discussions will contribute to improving our understanding of how to do quality, publishable research from emerging markets.