Useful Research: Advancing Theory and Practice

January 12, 2013 761

Susan Albers Mohrman, Edward E. Lawler, III, and Associates: Useful Research: Advancing Theory and Practice. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2011. 456 pp. $49.95, hardcover.

David A. Whetten of Brigham Young University and Zachariah J. Rodgers of Stanford University published a book review of “Useful Research: Advancing Theory and Practice” in the latest issue of Administrative Science Quarterly:

Theory is useful because it is applicable beyond a particular case, while practice is a particular case. This apparent incompatibility is resolved when theory properly specifies key contextual components necessary to qualify applicability, and appropriate theories are applied to understanding particular cases. Conversely, theories can ‘‘learn’’ through feedback from particular cases. Mohrman and Lawler’s 25-year sequel compilation, Useful Research, champions and demonstrates practical organizational studies research through rich examples of collaborations between researchers and practitioners, career narratives, tangible approaches, and environmental evaluations, nestled among cogent commentaries and frameworks.

Click here to read the review, and follow this link for free access to two years’ worth of book reviews from Administrative Science Quarterly.

Business and Management INK puts the spotlight on research published in our more than 100 management and business journals. We feature an inside view of the research that’s being published in top-tier SAGE journals by the authors themselves.

View all posts by Business & Management INK

Published

January 12, 2013

How Do Firms Create Government Regulations?

By Fiona Yao, Jun Xia, Xiaoli Yin, Xinran Wang, and Zhouyu Lin

Read Now

Second Edition of ‘The Evidence’ Examines Women and Climate Change

Bookshelf

March 29, 2024

Second Edition of ‘The Evidence’ Examines Women and Climate Change

By Aaron Knigin

Read Now

Challenging, But Worth It: Overcoming Paradoxical Tensions of Identity to Embrace Transformative Technologies in Teaching and Learning

Business and Management INK

March 27, 2024

Challenging, But Worth It: Overcoming Paradoxical Tensions of Identity to Embrace Transformative Technologies in Teaching and Learning

By Isabel Fischer and Kerry Dobbins

Read Now

Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence in the Complex Environment of Megaprojects: Implications for Practitioners and Project Organizing Theory

Business and Management INK

March 21, 2024

Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence in the Complex Environment of Megaprojects: Implications for Practitioners and Project Organizing Theory

By Sachindra Chamode Wijayasekera, Syed Asad Hussain, Amrit Paudel, Bhuwan Paudel, John Steen, Rehan Sadiq, and Kasun Hewage

Read Now

Putting People at the Heart of the Research Process

Philippa Hunter-Jones, Jessica Weaver, and Rory Donnelly 397 Business and Management INK

In this article, Jessica Weaver, Philippa Hunter-Jones, and Rory Donnelly reflect on “Unlocking the Full Potential of Transformative Service Research by Embedding Collaboration Throughout the Research Process,” which can be found in the Journal of Service Research.

Read Now

Coping with Institutional Complexity and Voids: An Organization Design Perspective for Transnational Interorganizational Projects

Yongcheng Fu, Lihan Zhang and Yongqiang Chen 517 Business and Management INK, Research

Institutional complexity occurs when the structures, interests, and activities of separate but collaborating organizations—often across national and cultural boundaries—are not well aligned. Institutional voids in this context are gaps in function or capability, including skills gaps, lack of an effective regulatory regime, and weak contract-enforcing mechanisms.

Read Now

Empowering David: How Smaller Firms Reconfigure National Dependency on Foreign Multinationals in the Era of Disruptive Technological Change

Sonja Avlijaš, Pavle Medić, and Kori Udovički 990 Business and Management INK

In this article, Sonja Avlijaš, Pavle Medić, and Kori Udovički reflect on foreign direct investment (FDI) and the way it impacts the development of political economies.

Read Now