Kazimierz Dobrowolski’s Integral Method as a Theoretical and Methodological Proposal of Organization and Management Research in Historical Perspective (Metoda integralna Kazimierza Dobrowolskiego jako teoretyczna i metodologiczna propozycja badan organizacji i zarzadzania w perspektywie historycznej)

Purpose: The main purpose of the present paper is to present Kazimierz Dobrowolski’s integral method treated here as the proposal directed at the organization and management research in historical perspective. This method has been put forward against a background of the dominant – in the sciences of organization and management – quantitative approaches based on the positive research paradigm. His methodological proposal was referred to the main threads in methodological discussions of organizational history. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis was based on studies of literature on the methodology of organizational history and theoretical proposals found in the publications of Dobrowolski. Findings: The article shows that that Dobrowolski’s methodological proposal offers an integral method assuming a holistic nature of social reality, postulating a combination of functional and historical approaches as well as the use of materials obtained through field research and document studies. Research limitation/ implications: Dobrowolski’s concept can be applied to the study of transformation processes and relations between organization and its environment. Originality/value: The article is a pioneering attempt to analyze Dobrowolski’s theoretical and methodological concepts in the context of methodological postulates of organizational history.