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
Citation
GEORGE, Gerard.
Expanding Context to Redefine Theories: Africa in Management Research. (2015). Management and Organization Review. 11, (1), 5-10.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/4759
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2015.7
