Business and Management INK

Is Your Research Boxed-In?

July 16, 2014 1070

wooden-crate-1426375-mMany academics find themselves in an increasingly specialized area of research, which has benefits like creating an identity, increasing productivity and a feeling of belonging intellectually. Mats Alvesson and Jörgen Sandberg point out in their paper recently published in Organization Studies entitled “Habitat and Habitus: Boxed-in versus Box-Breaking Research,” that keeping within a particular research ‘box’ is a key mechanism for success within the Management and Organization Studies community. However, they argue for more ‘tolerance for box-breaking’, suggesting that by being skeptical and challenging of the field, by drawing on theories and conventions from other fields, and by deconstructing and negating dominant viewpoints in one’s own and others’ research, box changing, box jumping and box transcendence can lead to more dynamic and critical research.

The abstract:

This paper argues that scholarly work is increasingly situated in narrowly circumscribed areas of study, which are encouraging specialization, incremental adding-to-the-literature contributions and a blinkered mindset. Researchers home_coverinvest considerable time and energy in these specialized areas in order to maximize their productivity and career prospects. We refer to this way of doing research and structuring careers as boxed-in research. While such research is normally portrayed as a template for good scholarship, it gives rise to significant problems in management and organization studies, as it tends to generate a shortage of novel and influential ideas. We propose box-breaking research as a strategy for how researchers and institutions can move away from the prevalence of boxed-in research and, thus, be able to generate more imaginative and influential research results. We suggest three versions: box changing, box jumping and, more ambitiously, box transcendence.

Click here to read “Habitat and Habitus: Boxed-in versus Box-Breaking Research” for free from Organization Studies. Don’t miss other research from Organization Studies! Click here to sign up for e-alerts!

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

Related Articles

Using Intelligent Self-Limitation to Explore the Distinction Between Environment and Umwelt
Business and Management INK
December 6, 2024

Using Intelligent Self-Limitation to Explore the Distinction Between Environment and Umwelt

Read Now
The Authors of ‘Artificial Intelligence and Work’ on Future Risk
Innovation
December 4, 2024

The Authors of ‘Artificial Intelligence and Work’ on Future Risk

Read Now
From Conflict to Peace: Reflecting on the Leadership of John Hume in Northern Ireland
Business and Management INK
December 3, 2024

From Conflict to Peace: Reflecting on the Leadership of John Hume in Northern Ireland

Read Now
The End of Meaningful CSR?
Business and Management INK
November 22, 2024

The End of Meaningful CSR?

Read Now
Boards and Internationalization Speed

Boards and Internationalization Speed

This article aims to explore how the boards of international new ventures (INVs) develop throughout the internationalisation and growth phases of the firm.

Read Now
How Managers Can Enhance Trust

How Managers Can Enhance Trust

How to stimulate interpersonal trust in organizations? How can performance management contribute to trust? And, can other types of management control also […]

Read Now
The Role of Place in Sustainability

The Role of Place in Sustainability

In this article, co-authors Arno Kourula, Panikos Georgallis, Irene Henriques, and Johanna Mair reflect on the inspiration behind their research article, “Introduction to the Special Issue […]

Read Now
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Huf, Stefan Prof. Dr.

Dear sirs,

free access to the article is not possible

Best regards
Stefan Huf

Dr. Huf, Thank you for letting us know. The article is now open.