Mapping to understand, understanding to act: participatory approaches based on mixed methods

Dr. L. Martin Cloutier*

Professor of Information Technology Management

School of Management Sciences

University of Quebec in Montreal

*Member of the faculty of the Business Science Institute

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For several years now, I have been interested in ways in which research can be useful, practical, and shared. Not just to produce knowledge, but to build meaning, support decisions, and bring about collective action. With this in mind, I have gradually developed, tested, and disseminated a research approach that I find particularly fruitful: group concept mapping, rooted in participatory mixed methods.

One method, multiple fields, multiple voices

Above all, this approach creates a structured space for dialogue between stakeholders on complex topics such as organizational transformation, technological innovation, sustainable development, and change management. The idea is not to impose an analytical framework from above, but to bring out a collective representation built on the ideas and perceptions of the actors involved.

The method follows a rigorous sequence: group brainstorming, sorting of statements, statistical analysis (multidimensional positioning, hierarchical classification), then collective interpretation and development of recommendations. At each stage, knowledge is built up with the participants. The result is a map that highlights areas of convergence, tensions and priorities. A map to be read, discussed and activated.

This method has been used in applied research in various contexts through DBA theses at the Business Science Institute.

• With Gabriel Tremblay, we studied the demonstration of the economic value of innovative health technologies, highlighting the tensions between clinical outcomes and economic considerations.

• David Larivière has worked on awareness of the risk of disappearance in public and private hospitals, exploring the conditions for organizational resilience.

• Martin Lemelle, now president of Grambling State University, applied this approach to identify the factors for successful organizational change by mobilizing three institutions in the United States.

• Other theses are just being defended or are at a very advanced stage, such as in the United Arab Emirates, where Mr. Azam Zia has conceptualized IT project management in public organizations, integrating the human dimension that is too often neglected.

• Finally, more recently, Johan Sapanel, at the National University of Singapore, used the method to map the value levers of digital therapies in an article published in NPJ Digital Medicine.

Thinking together, producing differently

The strength of group concept mapping is that it allows research to remain close to practice while adhering to a rigorous scientific approach. We don't just objectify a field; we engage in a process where everyone's voice counts, where we co-construct a shared vision, where collective understanding becomes the foundation for possible transformation.

This approach is part of a broader change that I have been observing for several years: that of reflexive action research, which does not separate thought from action, or analysis from commitment. It reveals—and helps us understand—the systems of actors, their logic, their frictions, and their potential.

What managers can learn from this

For manager-researchers, this method offers a valuable opportunity: to become the author of their own research questions and actors in their own field. It also makes it possible to produce knowledge that is grounded, useful, and immediately applicable within the organization. And because it is participatory, it facilitates collective ownership of the results, which is a prerequisite for any lasting change.

In this sense, I firmly believe that this approach is at the heart of the DBA as conceived by the Business Science Institute: a program that combines scientific rigor and managerial utility, detached analysis and real transformation.

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Check out Martin Cloutier's presentation: