Autoethnographic data as abductive experiences

This chapter argues that autoethnographic narration helps social researchers understand everyday events in organisations through experiencing them first hand. It elaborates on how the authors, as autoethnographic researchers dealing with organisational issues, may generate, share and understand ‘data’ in different formats through writing personal narratives. The chapter presents the notion of abductive experiences and explores how these may create new lines of inquiry that lead to new understandings of organisational research. It presents the stories to highlight how the stumbling upon abductive experiences through informal engagement within organisations can elicit ‘data’ that otherwise is not articulated in formal settings and therefore is difficult to generate through traditional ethnographic endeavours. An autoethnographic approach that acknowledges the fluctuating everyday life of organisations can help better clarify the multiplicity of our abductive experiences and their unpredictability when interacting with stakeholders of the organisations the authors engage with during our fieldwork.