Paper short abstract:

Participatory action research is a methodological approach with unspoken claims that researchers should make the world better for vulnerable groups in society. Authoethnography make visible these tacit claims, putting into words a vague and dissatisfied feeling when used for innovation and growth.

Paper long abstract:

Participatory action research is a methodological approach to social change (Brydon-Miller et al., 2003). It is an approach with unspoken autoethnographic claims that researchers should make the world better for vulnerable groups in society. These tacit claims are presented in the article through my experiences from being part of a research environment for participatory action research characterized by an extensive research project focused on innovation and growth in the media field. The autoethnographic approach is understood as a systematic analysis of personal experience to understand cultural experience (Ellis, 2004), both process and product (Ellis et al., 2011). Therefore, I give examples such as epiphanies, self-proclaimed phenomena of transformative experiences, as intense situations and effects that remain. Through my personal story, an ever-present tension in academic culture related to "social change" and "innovation for growth" emerges as opposites. This puts into words a vague and dissatisfied feeling that explains a lot in participatory action research as the approach is used for innovation and growth. Autoethnography makes it possible to show how academia and economics tensions are valuable in illuminating cultural processes. It emphasizes the importance of autoethnographic elements to shed particular light on methodological issues by assuming and acknowledging the researchers' active role in participatory action research. Subjective norms and ideas are included in the research approach, thus need to be articulated.