Application of Prototype Analysis to Organizational Research: A Critical Methodological Review

Prototypes—internalized knowledge structures of the most typical or characteristic features of a concept—are important because they influence cognitive processing. Yet prototype analysis, the method used to examine prototypes, appears relatively underutilized in organizational research. To introduce prototype analysis to a wider audience of organizational scholars, we conducted a critical methodological literature review following a six-step procedure. Seventy-three prototype analyses published in 35 journals were categorized and their content analyzed. A prototype analysis typically includes a sequence of independent studies conducted over two stages, recently referred to as the standard procedure. Our review makes several contributions, including development of a taxonomy of prototype analysis applications, clarification of the standard procedure of a prototype analysis and possible variations, and suggestions for organizational research. Benefits of undertaking a prototype analysis include improved understanding of abstract workplace concepts that are difficult to measure directly, the ability to compare cross-cultural prototypes, and an approach for investigating the issue of construct redundancy. We conclude with best-practice recommendations, implications for organizational scholarship, methodological limitations, and future research suggestions.