The shadow in organizational ethnography: Moving beyond shadowing to spect- acting Rebecca Gill, Texas A&M University Pre-proof version. For the published version, see: Gill, R. (2011). The shadow in organizational ethnography: Moving beyond shadowing to spect-acting. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management 6, 115-133. Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the methodological practice of shadowing and its implications for ethnographic fieldwork. Furthermore, the paper challenges the label of “shadowing” and suggests a new label of “spect-acting.” Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based in a feminist and interpretive- qualitative approach to methods, and uses the author’s experience with shadowing as a case study. The author argues that fieldwork is always intersubjective and as such, the research site emerges out of the co-construction of the relationship between researcher and participant. Findings – The author argues that reflexivity is a required but neglected aspect of shadowing, and that spect-acting as a new term would require the researcher to take reflexivity more seriously, thereby opening up emancipatory possibilities in the field. Research limitations/implications – Findings are based on a limited time span of shadowing. Originality/value – The paper is original in that it imports “spect-acting” from performance studies into the organizational methods lexicon. The value of the paper is that it provides reflection and discussion of one-on-one ethnography, which is a relatively underutilized method in research on organizations and management (but beginning to grow in popularity). Keywords: Spect-acting, Organizational ethnography, Reflexivity, Shadowing, Entrepreneurs, Gender, Social research Paper type Case study