Researchers are exposed to multiple interpretive challenges in the journey from field data to theoretical understanding. A common response to these challenges is to turn to the guidance of templates such as the Gioia methodology—currently a preferred template for interpretive management research. Given its popularity, we examine how this methodology approaches the interpretive process of fieldwork. We find that the inductive route to theory that it offers does not address the challenges of interpretation. As an alternative, we propose a return to the epistemological tradition of hermeneutics. We argue that fieldwork informed by a hermeneutic orientation is able to generate credible and novel theory by confronting the challenges of interpretation head on. This process cannot be represented by the orderly steps of a template. We argue that a return to a hermeneutic orientation opens the way to more plausible and insightful theories based on interpretive rather than procedural rigor, and we offer a set of heuristics to guide both researchers and reviewers along this path.

在从现场数据到理论理解的过程中，研究人员面临多种解释性挑战。对这些挑战的常见应对方法是转向模板的指导，例如Gioia方法论-目前是解释性管理研究的首选模板。鉴于其受欢迎程度，我们将研究这种方法如何处理实地考察的解释过程。我们发现，它所提供的理论归纳方法并不能解决解释的挑战。作为替代方案，我们建议回归到诠释学的认识论传统。我们认为，以解释学为导向的野外工作能够直面解释的挑战，从而产生出可信且新颖的理论。此过程不能用模板的有序步骤表示。