The Gift of New Eyes: Personal Reflections after 30 Years of Appreciative Inquiry in Organizational LifeAppreciative Inquiry in Organizational Life ^☆

Abstract

This article presents a conceptual refigurationy of action-research based on a “sociorationalist” view of science. The position that is developed can be summarized as follows: For action-research to reach its potential as a vehicle for social innovation it needs to begin advancing theoretical knowledge of consequence; that good theory may be one of the best means human beings have for affecting change in a postindustrial world; that the discipline’s steadfast commitment to a problem solving view of the world acts as a primary constraint on its imagination and contribution to knowledge; that appreciative inquiry represents a viable complement to conventional forms of action-research; and finally, that through our assumptions and choice of method we largely create the world we later discover.

Citation

Cooperrider, D. (2017), "The Gift of New Eyes: Personal Reflections after 30 Years of Appreciative Inquiry in Organizational LifeAppreciative Inquiry in Organizational Life ^☆ ", Research in Organizational Change and Development (Research in Organizational Change and Development, Vol. 25), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 81-142. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0897-301620170000025003