ABSTRACT
Business and management disciplines draw from a wide array of theoretical frames and
employ an even wider array of methodological approaches in the conduct of management
inquiry. Quantitative methodologies and qualitative methodologies have now been joined by
a third methodological movement, mixed methods. Mixed methods has now become a
legitimate methodological movement with a growing body of theoretical and conceptual
frameworks, seminal mixed method theorists, publications and academic recognition and
legitimation. The use of mixed methods is particularly popular in the social and behavioural
sciences, education and health, nursing and medicine. This paper maps the rise of this third
methodological movement before introducing Creswell and Plano Clark’s (2007) discipline
acceptance levels for mixed methods. As a means to gauge the level of acceptance of mixed
methods in management a synthesis of six large scale methodological scans across seven
management fields will be presented. The fields covered by these studies include: marketing;
international business; strategic management; organisational behaviour; operations
management; entrepreneurship and; human resource management. The paper concludes with
a discussion of the implications for developing mixed methods research capacity within and
across management disciplines and future research to this end.