The Role of Research in Business Schools and the Synergy Between Its Four Subdomains

Abstract

The vast domain of research in business schools may be categorized according to Stokes’s four quadrant classification, which uses two dimensions: consideration of use (yes or no) and quest for fundamental understanding (yes or no). Viewing business school research in the context of these quadrants, it becomes clear that all four quadrants are so closely linked that research in each informs and inspires research in the others. It is therefore critical that business schools promote research in all four quadrants. Likewise, researchers in business schools should appreciate the importance of research in every quadrant and the scope of cross-pollination between them, or they will fail to realize their full potential. In order to get the most out of every quadrant, business schools must recruit professors who pursue research in a range of disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, and economics, and those who focus on the practical use of knowledge.