Abstract

This paper presents an empirical case study in which the object of research was constituted by a small systems research centre within an English university. This research coincides with the 'last days' of this centre and it may help to understand why other systems centres have also declined. A series of observations were collected through participant observation and later analysed through examining the underlying linguistic structures that characterized the conversational interactions among members of the centre. As a result of such analysis, some research strategies are proposed on how the researcher could have supported the development of the centre by making precise interventions on its communication structure. It is also indicated how individual and collective emergence was prevented. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.