Abstract
This introduction to this special edition of the Journal dealing with recent qualitative work undertaken by local industrial
psychologists, sketch the nature of qualitative research globally, its position in South Africa, and finally, the status of such research as applied to the management/ organisational field abroad as well as in South Africa. From this and the other articles it is clear that qualitative research is healthy in management related areas in South Africa, but that local scholars have work on their hands to train promising researchers in this research style in order to sustain it and developing it further.