Publication Type

Editorial

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

3-2015

Abstract

As a scholarly field matures, theories emerge that guide paradigms and shape consensus in academic discourse. Management theories reflect a shared consensus on how individual behaviors or organizational actions result in a certain set of outcomes and under specific conditions. Clearly, theory is paramount to guiding whether models of potential relationships bear out and how and why we would expect a relationship or specific outcome. Yet much of this theory is derived from cumulative empirical evidence from a ‘context’ that has remained a silent partner in our quest for a theoretical contribution. A growing number of papers emphasize the theoretical contribution as disembodied from the context in which the empirical evidence of a causal relationship was gleaned. As an applied field, the emphasis on theory with disregard to the context of management practice presents a challenge for progress both as a scholarly domain and for credibility in what we teach and how we consult, or how we effect positive social change. This guest editorial joins a chorus of recent editorials in this journal (e.g., Tsui, 2013) and elsewhere (e.g., George, 2014) that suggest we rethink management scholarship, rejuvenate our ideas for research, and embed a nugget of practice in scholarly discourse.

Discipline

African Studies | Strategic Management Policy

Research Areas

Strategy and Organisation

Publication

Management and Organization Review

Volume

11

Issue

1

First Page

5

Last Page

10

ISSN

1740-8776

Identifier

10.1017/mor.2015.7

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2015.7

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