Abstract

Action Research (AR) is not only a research method or a research strategy for solving a research problem, but also an effective tool for developing knowledge and implementing changes in the organization. The aim of AR is to bring about a change within the studied area and get participants to initiate changes, in which the researcher and the recipient collaborate in investigating the problem and developing a relevant solution. AR assumes the collaboration of researchers, practitioners and laymen, and consists in systematically collecting data from everyday practice and analyzing it in order to decide on its future shape. The AR study was conducted in a public organization, namely the District Court in Gdańsk. The subject of the AR study was extrajudicial activities – pro-social activities undertaken by the District Court in Gdańsk. The study was to answer the question whether public organizations – in this case, courts - can engage in pro-social activities, and if so, in which areas. The study covered the time horizon between June 2013 and March 2018, that is, a period of over five years. As part of the conducted research, successive observations of the phenomena taking place within the organization were carried out, and so were a number of interviews with the court's management, conversations with various groups of stakeholders and quantitative surveys with stakeholders on the subject of collaboration with the court and its quality. Analysis of research results shows, first, that AR can be used in public organizations, and second, that intervention resulting from the use of this research method is effective. Despite changes in management and political changes, pro-social activities are still being undertaken in courts, having become an organizational routine. Research findings additionally supplement the current knowledge about the possibility of undertaking pro-social activities by public organizations, including courts. They fall within the scope of strategic management in the subdiscipline of public management

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