Useful Research: Advancing Theory and Practice

By: Susan Albers Mohrman and Edward E. Lawler III

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Synopsis: This collection examines how useful research can be achieved and argues that in order to keep organizational research relevant to theory and practice, the approach must deviate from the orthodoxy of positivistic, pure research approaches. The contributing authors were selected for their demonstrated ability to conduct useful research, and they bring their unique professional experience to their chapters by describing the choices they make and the tactics they employ. The core message of this book is that in order to conduct research that is useful, researchers must learn from practice and intentionally position their work so that it finds a pathway to practice. While each chapter can stand alone, the book is crafted to provide multiple complementary perspectives on the topic of useful research. It does an outstanding job of describing what it takes to bridge the gap between theory and practice. It goes beyond advocacy, theoretical debate, and restatements of the problem to focus on the types of research methods that produce useful research. Topics include crafting research programs to yield useful knowledge, academic careers that yield useful knowledge, pathways to practice, institutional agents such as MBA programs and journals.