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Has Management Studies Lost Its Way? Ideas for More Imaginative and Innovative Research

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Author

Summary, in English

Despite the huge increase in the number of management articles published during the three last decades, there is a serious shortage of high-impact research in management studies. We contend that a primary reason behind this paradoxical shortage is the near total dominance of incremental gap-spotting research in management. This domination is even more paradoxical as it is well known that gap-spotting rarely leads to influential theories. We identify three broad and interacting key drivers behind this double paradox: institutional conditions, professional norms, and researchers' identity constructions. We discuss how specific changes in these drivers can reduce the shortage of influential management theories. We also point to two methodologies that may encourage and facilitate more innovative and imaginative research and revisions of academic norms and identities.

Publishing year

2013

Language

English

Pages

128-152

Publication/Series

Journal of Management Studies

Volume

50

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Topic

  • Business Administration

Keywords

  • interesting theories
  • problematization
  • research methods
  • research
  • problems
  • research questions
  • theory development

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1467-6486