Evidence‐Based Management and Academic Research Relevance

Abstract

This study seeks to understand how academic business valuation research influences business practice. It uses knowledge market theory to assess the efficacy of the evidence‐based solution to academic research relevance. Fifteen semi‐structured interviews were conducted with chartered business valuators in Canada. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis using QSR's NVivo software (QSR International, Cambridge, USA). The research findings revealed that academic research on business valuation is relevant to business valuation practitioners. The professional nature of the business valuation profession promotes evidence‐based management practices and encourages the use of academic literature in managerial decision making. Business valuation academics should not change the manner in which they publish scholarly articles. Instead, a solution to the academic relevanceproblem resides in having efficient market intermediaries in the form of knowledge translation mechanisms. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.