Varieties of knowledge and their use in business and management studies: conditions and institutions

Many research fields combine practical goals with a search for fundamental mechanisms and make significant contributions to theoretical understanding. This is especially so in the social sciences, which are often concerned with policy issues and problems, albeit with varying degrees of directness. Business and management studies (BMS) may be more focused on practical problem solving than other social sciences, but they are equally capable of contributing major intellectual innovations. They produce a variety of kinds of knowledge that are practically useful in different conditions. At least eight types can be distinguished in terms of their horizontal and vertical isolation, and their identification of causal mechanisms.