Getting Too Close to the Fire: The Challenge of Engaging Stories and Saving Lives

There is a long and troubled history in the relationship between management research and management practice. Much is often made of the negative impact in terms of management practice of the two so‐called foundation reports both published in 1959 in the USA. A re‐reading of these, however, suggests that the bigger issue is the conflation of analytical approaches with superior management performance. This remains a basis for researchers and practitioners to engage, but such engagement also requires a sense of critical distance and distinct identities between the two groups, which recognizes the differing nature of practice knowledge alongside research‐based knowledge.