El análisis cualitativo de nexos causales: El aporte del process-tracing a las ciencias de la gestión

The observation of causal links in organizational processes has prioritized the quantitative approach based on the processing of datasets. Process-tracing is an alternative methodological design, predominantly qualitative, for analysing these causal bonds. Unfortunately, this method is barely known and has limited application in the investigation of the organizational reality in the Iberoamerican region. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relevance of this method to the analysis of organizations. It departs by addressing the epistemological and methodological foundations of this method. Then it examines its importance to the analysis of organizations’ management. Lastly, it describes its application to the study of the strategic process of a restaurant chain with a plant-based diet in Lima, Peru. The document concludes by highlighting the importance of using this method and its contribution to the methodological pluralism in the discipline.