The Emic-Etic-Emic Research Cycle

This article discusses the role of both emic (developing culture specific concepts) and etic (applying concepts across cultures) research in the international management literature. We propose a more comprehensive research cycle that can provide researchers with a deeper understanding of the context in under-researched countries. Specifically, we propose that the combination of emic and etic research approaches, in an emic-etic-emic cycle, is the best way to disaggregate contextual issues in organizational research, particularly when dealing with human issues in management. Such a cycle, we argue, provides a deeper understanding of the context in under-researched countries.