When seeing theory is not enough: can organizational ethnography think with game engines’ interactive affordances?

Purpose This work contributes to organizational videography by proposing interactive videography as a methodological innovation that allows ethnographers to experience and theorize the relational dynamics of organizational life through interactive, emergent visualizations. Using SpacesGame, an interactive research artifact developed using Unreal Engine 4, the study advances the scope of expressive videography by integrating interactivity into the visual representation of theoretical concepts. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on Actor-Network Theory (ANT), it highlights how interactive 3D spaces as experimental apparatuses enable the exploration of complex theoretical constructs, such as the entanglement of agency within organizational processes. Findings The paper elucidates how game engines can be leveraged to inscribe theoretical imagination in organizational research, demonstrating the contribution of real-time interactivity to expressive videography. In doing so, it argues that videography can better theorize the full sensory dimensions of organizational life through the utilization of interactivity, particularly when addressing complex and difficult-to-visualize theoretical constructs and relationships. Research limitations/implications Although game development has been more accessible in recent years, these skills are still uncommon, and many researchers may find it prohibitively challenging to engage in this type of digital research. However, as generative AI tools become more user-friendly, the scope for adoption of this method is vastly growing. Originality/value This, to the best of the author’s knowledge, is the first attempt at using game engine software for conceptual work in ethnographic research. It offers a way to present and engage theory within an interactive space that allows for novel engagement with theorizing, especially those pertaining to agency in organizational inquiries.