Tackling Complexity in Business and Society Research: The Methodological and Thematic Potential of Factorial Surveys Oll, Josua Hahn, Rüdiger Reimsbach, Daniel Kotzian, Peter Social Sciences (miscellaneous) Business Management and Accounting (miscellaneous) Factorial surveys (FSs) integrate elements of survey research and classical experiments. Using a large number of respondents in a controlled setting, FSs approximate complex and realistic judgment situations through so-called vignettes—that is, carefully designed descriptions of hypothetical people, social situations, or scenarios. Despite being rooted, and predominantly applied, in sociology, FSs are particularly promising for business and society (B&S) scholars. Given the multiplicity, inherent complexity, and sometimes fuzziness of B&S research objects, conventional research methods inevitably reach their limits. This article, therefore, systematically presents methodological and thematic opportunities for FS studies in B&S research. It is argued that FSs are well suited to dealing with the complex interplay of societal-, organizational-, and individual-level factors in B&S research and to studying the principles underlying human perceptions, attitudes, values, social norms, and (anticipated) behavior. The application of the FS method is illustrated based on a showcase example in the realm of socially responsible investments (SRIs). As the literature on the conceptualization of FSs is limited, methodological challenges are addressed to guide B&S researchers past the common methodological pitfalls. SAGE Publications 2016 info:eu-repo/semantics/article doc-type:article text http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 https://ris.uni-paderborn.de/record/47912 Oll J, Hahn R, Reimsbach D, Kotzian P. Tackling Complexity in Business and Society Research: The Methodological and Thematic Potential of Factorial Surveys. <i>Business &amp; Society</i>. 2016;57(1):26-59. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650316645337">10.1177/0007650316645337</a> eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1177/0007650316645337 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/issn/0007-6503 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/issn/1552-4205 info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess