Theory Building Through Hermeneutic Documentary Inquiry in Management Research

Abstract

Management research increasingly addresses complex forms of organisational value, yet conceptual frameworks often remain fragmented across economic, social, environmental, governance and strategic traditions. This paper examines how hermeneutic documentary inquiry can be used as a rigorous theory-building strategy for constructing an integrative management framework from dispersed secondary sources. The study is derived from a doctoral research project that designed the RMS Model, translated as Multidimensional Sustainable Wealth (MSW) Model, but the purpose of this paper is methodological rather than confirmatory. It asks how conceptually rich documents can be selected, interpreted, reduced and synthesised to produce a coherent conceptual architecture without claiming empirical validation. The research followed a predominantly qualitative and exploratory design grounded in a hermeneutic-interpretive stance. The method was theoretical research operationalised through documentary inquiry, purposive theoretical sampling, iterative comparison, qualitative simplification and categorisation. A limited longitudinal review of economic, social and environmental indicators contextualised the problem, while the core analytical work focused on management models, ESG-related tools and associated theoretical contributions. The process generated an integrative framework organised around five dimensions of multidimensional sustainable wealth, ten subcategories and associated emergent themes. The MSW Model is presented as a theory-building output that systematises dispersed conceptual insights into a structured framework for future research, not as evidence of organisational effectiveness. The paper contributes to research methodology in three ways. First, it positions documentary inquiry as more than a literature review technique by showing its potential for conceptual construction. Second, it clarifies how hermeneutic interpretation can guide the movement from heterogeneous documents to theoretically ordered categories. Third, it distinguishes explicitly between conceptual model design, derivative practical instruments and subsequent empirical validation. This distinction helps prevent overclaiming in conceptual research and defines an agenda for future case-based, comparative and psychometric studies. The paper is relevant to scholars interested in theory development, conceptual framework design and qualitative methodology in business and management research.