Cultivating insightful theory-building in qualitative research

Journal article

We have witnessed a proliferation of theory-building qualitative research in entrepreneurship and management studies over the past two decades. While this overall trend is worth celebrating, we argue that it is time to pause and reflect on the broader theoretical and practical impact of this body of work. Although methodological sophistication and the use of structured templates have enhanced rigor, the theoretical models generated through qualitative inquiry are rarely revisited or extended in subsequent research or practice. Thus, we suggest moving beyond the production of ‘stand-alone’ theoretical models toward what we call insightful theory-building, a mode of inquiry that prioritizes the development of clear, actionable insights that others can build upon, thereby enabling stepwise, cumulative theory development. To support this shift, we offer seven interrelated development strategies: clarifying, zooming in, connecting, situating, sharing, countering, and experimenting. These strategies are intended to foster more substantive, reflexive, and generative theorizing within qualitative research in entrepreneurship and management studies.

Authors: Kibler, E; Vaara, E; Laine, L

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Journal of Business Venturing Insights
• Volume: 24
• Article number: e00567
• Publication date: 2025-08-22
• Acceptance date: 2025-08-20
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2025.e00567
• EISSN: 2352-6734
• Language: English
• Keywords: qualitative research; theory building; insights; development strategies