At the Interface of Management Science and Practice: A Community for Responsible Research

Abstract

This symposium presents a whitepaper with a vision of a future “Vision 2030&x201D; in which business schools and scholars worldwide have successfully transformed their research toward responsible science – defined as research that produces credible and reliable knowledge with either direct or indirect usefulness for addressing problems important to both business and society. This vision is based on the belief that business is a means for a better world. The White Paper is co-authored by 24 senior scholars across five business disciplines from 23 universities in five countries. The paper outlines possible actions by different stakeholders to help business schools and scholars that wish to realize this vision. The paper further explains the impetus for the proposal by describing the current business research ecosystem and associated problems, drawing on published work and a Delphi survey of scholars who have written about different aspects of the current research challenges. The symposium invites discussion and debate on the possibility and necessity of creating a “responsible research&x201D; ecosystem so that business and management research can become a force of change for a better world at the interface of management science and practice. Positioning of the White Paper by two members Anne Tsui and Thomas Dyllick will be followed by presentations by Gerard George on impact in management research based on the AMJ special issue on Grand Challenges. Costas Markides will discuss how academics can operate successfully at the interface of management science and practice. Bill Glick will conclude with views on accreditation processes and how business schools need to adapt their research by operating on the interface with practice. Open discussion and comments on creating an open source community on responsible management research will be follow-up actions from the symposium.