The two pillars of new management research

Ken Starkey and Paula Madan's report, Bridging the Relevance Gap (2001), advocates the development of collaborative networks between academics and organizations. Drawing on similar experiences, this article discusses two essential conditions of such programmes: a clarification of the scientific object of management research, and the design of research-oriented partnerships. The scientific identity of management research should be distinguished from other social sciences: management sciences do not study economic or social facts, but ‘models of collective action’ which are then perceived and judged conventionally and historically as ‘economic or social phenomena’. Therefore, the essence and universality of management research is in understanding, criticizing and inventing ‘models of collective action’. In management research, as in other design sciences, the classical laboratory and field models of research are important. However, a third model of research based on partnerships is required, where knowledge does not transcend action but is integral to it. Yet research is not simply ‘doing better’ and requires theoretical and empirical control. Hence, the design of ‘research oriented partnerships’ is a crucial key of new management research. Inspired by existing experiences, the research community could lay down the rules and commitments expected from academics and companies in research-oriented partnerships. Resting on these two pillars, research could contribute to the invention of new models of collective action adapted to contemporary issues and values and reduce misleading mimetic behaviour, blind compliance to gurus or fashion in management practice.