Where there's Smoke, there's Fire: The Targeted Selection of Informants within Organisational Research

Abstract

This paper examines the difficulties encountered by researchers while trying to acquire an emic' or insider's view of an organisation. It argues that smokers, because of their social outcast status, and their need to step outside for a cigarette, provide researchers with the opportunity to gain valuable insights into the operations of the firm. It is well-established that participant and non-participant ethnographic research provides an opportunity to investigate workplaces beyond the scope of workplace questionnaires and interviews. Through data collected across three separate research projects, this paper argues that smokers, as social outcasts in the workplace, present an opportunity to collect a wealth of important research data.