Organization Studies as Applied Science: The Generation and Use of Academic Knowledge About Organizations - Introduction to the Special Issue

Organization Studies, Vol. 31, pp. 1189-1207, 2010

University of Zurich, Institute of Organization and Administrative Science (IOU), IOU Working Paper No. 111

31 Pages Posted: 30 Oct 2010

See all articles by Paula Jarzabkowski

Paula Jarzabkowski

Aston University - Aston Business School

Susan Albers Mohrman

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Andreas Georg Scherer

University of Zurich - IBW Department of Business Administration

Date Written: October 2010

Abstract

The relationship between theory and practice has been discussed in the social sciences for generations. Academics from management and organization studies regularly lament the di-vide between theory and practice. They regret the insufficient academic knowledge of mana-gerial problems and their solutions, and criticize the scholarly production of theories that are not relevant for organizational practice (Hambrick 1994). Despite the prevalence of this topic in academic discourse we do not know much about what kind of academic knowledge would be useful to practice, how it would be produced, and how the transfer of knowledge between theory and practice actually works. In short, we do not know how we can make academic work more relevant for practice or even whether this would be desirable. In this introduction to the special issue we apply philosophical, theoretical, and empirical perspectives to examine the challenges of studying the generation and use of academic knowledge. We then briefly describe the contribution of the seven papers that were selected for this special issue. Finally, we discuss issues that still need to be addressed, and make some proposals for future avenues of research.

Keywords: Organization studies, applied science, academic knowledge

Suggested Citation

Jarzabkowski, Paula and Albers Mohrman, Susan and Scherer, Andreas Georg, Organization Studies as Applied Science: The Generation and Use of Academic Knowledge About Organizations - Introduction to the Special Issue (October 2010). Organization Studies, Vol. 31, pp. 1189-1207, 2010 , University of Zurich, Institute of Organization and Administrative Science (IOU), IOU Working Paper No. 111, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1697528

Paula Jarzabkowski

Aston University - Aston Business School ( email )

Aston Triangle
Birmingham, B47ET
United Kingdom

Susan Albers Mohrman

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Andreas Georg Scherer (Contact Author)

University of Zurich - IBW Department of Business Administration ( email )

Plattenstrasse 14
Zurich, 8032
Switzerland
+41 44-63 45302 (Phone)
+41 44-63 45301 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.business.uzh.ch/professorships/as.html

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