This document summarizes a research talk held at Reva University on December 18-19, 2015 on making academic research more relevant. The talk addressed the ongoing debate around achieving rigor and relevance in management research. It discussed challenges such as research having limited impact on management practice. Suggestions were made for increasing relevance, such as engaging practitioners in the research process and conducting problem-oriented research. The need for Indian research to balance rigor with local context was also mentioned.

2. Reva University, 18th & 19th Dec 20153/4/2016
research talk 107
[ rigour-relevance
making academic research more relevant:Revisited the
rigour-relevance debate in light of recent development ]
REVA University
dr.mmbagali@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/mmbagali
mm bagali, phd

3. the need for rigour - relevance debate
how to craft and address the r-r
q-a
agenda !!

4. 1. Participative discussion and scholar inputs and
presenters
2. Bring the present status in Management and Other
areas of subject
3. End of the workshop, come out with 5 Best
practices
Objective

5. Views, opinions, or strategies presented are what I
personally think and believe to reflect “Life of PhD”,
and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions,
or strategies of the Organisation…..
as a researcher, this what is my views/ experience,
and I am sticking to it…………..
D I S C L A I M E R

6. AOM- Academy of Management Journal
2011; 54,5, 873-879
How many times do Winners of AMJ Best
Article Award rewrite the Title / Problem
Statement
How many times did we rewrite the Title /
Problem Statement
Setting the Hook
rigour-relevance

7. AOM- Academy of Management Journal
2011; 54,5, 873-879
How many times do Winners of AMJ Best Article
Award rewrite the Title / Problem Statement
3 to 4 times
How many times did we rewrite the Title / Problem
Statement
1 to 2 times
Setting the Hook
rigour-relevance

8. Tribal
warfare…
Rigor……. Academic World look for
Relevance…… Corporate look for
Rigor……. Academic World look for
Relevance…… Corporate look for
Setting the Context

9. debate in light of recent
development
reports of experts…….
little effect of organisational life
depth
coverage
scientific approach
objectives
research design
framework of the data collections
suggestions I recommendations

10. reports of experts…….
miss match and correlation between-
‘ usually the data collection + results
presentation + conclusion + suggestions ’
debate in light of recent
development

11. need to
address !!!
Are corporate using the results, if no, why??
Are corporate using the results, if Yes, what
and how and where??

12. debate in light of
recent development
Management research is generally perceived to have limited influence on
management practice (Pfeffer & Fong, 2002)
Miner (1984) found the 32 established organisational theories he reviewed to be
of little importance to and usefulness for practitioners
Rigby (2001) discovered that only 7 of the 25 management tools and techniques
he analysed originated from academia, which was also found to have lower
utilisation and satisfaction, and a greater defection rate
The findings of academic research that are published in scholarly management
journals are perceived to be “only remotely related to the real world of practicing
managers” (Susman and Evered, 1978)

13. And moreover, managers who apply scientific knowledge or theory seldom get
what they desire (Lundberg, 2001)
Business organisations, hence, rarely implement management practices that are
carved out of the findings of academic research, even if they claim to enhance
employee productivity and the financial performance of the Organisation
(Hambrick, 1994 and Pfeffer and Sutton, 2000)
debate in light of recent
development

14. [ basics of research ]
Challenging the existing one X Novel
Develop a new theory
Bridge theory X Practice
Contribution
Fresh look
Clarity…. What not to accomplish
Finding
Discover
Reexamine
Measure
Evaluate
Review
Implications
Organisational
Academic
Managerial

15. How Academy of Management
Journal looks at this debate in
their Authors Contribution
addressing the
rigour-relevance

16. Celebrating Our Award Winning Authors
and Reviewers
Academy of Management Review, 2015, October, Vo. 40;
No. 4, 495-496
One Committee Member said……
The article showed perhaps the broadest reach in terms
of relevance and implications……
I could readily imagine …..
It investigates an issue central to MANY arenas of
inquiry…..
Sheds new light in / on the process….
Can shape their future work and contribution to the
field……

17. The reason for limited relevance of academic research is primarily
attributed to academic researchers…..
…….. who seem to be “out-of-touch” with the language, problems, and
concerns of the business world and practitioners (Rudolph &
Peluchette, 1992)
Practitioners who look for “actionable” knowledge seldom refer to
academic research (Beer, 2001, Huff, 2000 and Lundberg, 2001)
Track the advancement of knowledge in the world of academe.
Business organisations prefer to approach management consultants
instead (Kilmann, Slevin, & Jerrell, 1983)
[ Relevance
academic
researchers ]

18. Significance
Novelty
Relevant
Curiosity
Scope
Action+ability
Novelty
New vocabulary
New ideas
New practices
Two pathologies
Familiarity trap
Maturity trap
[ Relevance
academic researchers
]

19. A consultant simplifies complex organizational
issues of the empirical world on the basis of
understanding, explanations, and predictions
(Brannick and Coghlan, 2006), whereas
academic scholars are perceived to complexify
issues in their attempt to theorize organizational
phenomena by considering all possible
manifestations and contingencies
whats your take on this !!!!
[ Relevance
academic researchers
]

20. Possible + Potential Impact
Reach
Value
Implications
Perceptives
[ Relevance
focus ]

21. Most of the studies are concept
centric rather than problem driven
(Panda and Gupta, 2007)
concepts, frameworks, and
methods of Western business
organisations without validating
those for Indian context
[ Relevance
focus ]

22. New paradigm
Broadest reach in terms of relevance and implications
Shed New lights
What's the landscape
Interdisciplinary
Is it Valid
Is it Clear
Is it Focused
Is it Specific
Is it elegant
Grand Challenge !!
[ Relevance
Problem
Identification ]

23. [ Rigor
A beginning ]
Indian Academy of Management (IAoM), during its
second biannual meet at IIM Bangalore in December
2011, urged Indian researchers to strive for the level of
rigour of the Western models, while conducting
indigenous research using context relevant constructs
and methodologies, to suit the development and
educational requirements of the country (Khatri et al.,
2012)

24. [ Rigor I Relevance
paradox ]

25. [ Rigor
A beginning ]
How many visited library before Planning to do
research
How many saw literature / article /papers /report
before commencement
How many visited company / organisation before
finalising to do research
Conference / Working Group / Workshop, et al
Will give you “ Trend” analysis

26. [ Relevant
A beginning ]
Literature Search Leads Observation Leads Theory
Development
Observe Leads Literature Leads Theory Development
Theory Development Leads Literature Verification Leads
Proposal
Concept Construct Leads Literature Leads idea
generation

27. Journal Scan for Scholarly writing
Make a span of 10 years and trend
Have received more scholarly attention
Study a Life cycle of topics / areas
[ How do I go…. 1 ]

28. Select a theme / Topic / Area / Probable issue
Send it to stake holders / get
acknowledgement
Than, select / finalize / the area of work
[ How do I go …. 2 ]

29. Did I understood the theme
Evaluate its effectiveness
Tools and techniques: from academic to practice / or practice to
academic
Appeal to real world of practicing managers
What Managers really need from the academician
As researcher, ask ….

30. Address…..Disconnect between the world of academics and
practice !!
Work initially with Consultants
Academic scholars to collaborate with practitioners for
developing research agenda
MOU’s and collaborations with corporate
Joint Courses with corporate
best practices
As researcher, ask ….

31. Address…..Disconnect between the world of academics and
practice !!
Publications…. can include Managers
Before final submission…..organise conference / workshop
Presentation for Professional Association
As researcher, ask ….

32. Sources for New Areas for
Theory Building - Relevance and Rigor
issuesBudget
Business TV Talk
Business News
Paper reporting
Journal scanning
Peer Review of other work
Article metric
Author metric
Journal metric
Future and Further work

33. Conference papers / LinkedIn discussion / Twitters
Books / Theses, dissertations and research in progress
Working papers or unpublished papers
Documents on the internet / Government publications, official
statistics
Personal requests to knowledgeable researchers and/or
practitioners
Reports from relevant institutions: companies, public bodies
Government publications and official statistics
Reference works, general guides to the literature and guides to
the literature in particular subject areas (compendium
catalogues)
Journals / Editorials
Network talks and evening meets
Sources for New Areas for
Theory Building - Relevance and
Rigor issues

34. Individual Scholars Can
Reduce the Rigor-Relevance
Gap in Management ResearchContributions to the body of management
knowledge
“problem-oriented” research
Engaging practitioners as partners in the
research process
Phenomenon-Driven Research

35. Institutional Response
Seed money for faculty members desirous of undertaking
context specific research
Funds to host conferences on indigenous themes
Providing and supporting travel to conferences of
organizational and industry relevance
Providing discretionary funds for research travel,
appointment of researchers, procurement of aids that enable
research etc.
Rewarding and recognizing faculty members who evangelize
locally relevant, context specific research

36. R-R Challenges
Corporate response
Samples form Corporate or Universe
Company Choice
Landscape coverage
Can we have managers perceptive as Expert report
Evidence based Problem identification

37. Signature Areas
Indian Context
Start-Up’s
Women on Boards
Social Media
Gender issues
Global
MNC
Leadership
Economy and Business transformation
Across
Family Firms
Diasporas

38. AOM….. Academy of Management
AOM….. Academy of Management Review
Administrative Science Quarterly
Strategic Management Journal
Jl of International Business Studies
Organizational Science
Vikalpa
Management review
Manager
MLS
EPW
TISS
Most Sort after Journals….
The Best
NHRD Network Newsletter
SHRM Review
AIMA…. Indian Management
IIM….
Scopus or Web of Science
EBSCO
Research gate / Academia.edu
Browzine
Journal Performance

39. Watch !!
HBR
‘ Idea Watch ’, Defend Your Research
AOM
‘ From the Editor ’, column
IIMB
‘ Round Table ', Management Review
IIMA
‘ Colloquium ’, Vikalpa

40. Methodological Issues
Title / Areas
Methodology
Sampling
Data Collection
Writing and presentation style
Type…..
Case type
Comparative analysis
Levels of inclusion
Develop Instrumentation / Tool
Plagiarism

46. Closing Thoughts
Significance
Novelty
Scope / Landscape
Title matters
Contribution
and yes, addressing the relevance and
rigour issues

47. Closing Thoughts
Rigor
Relevance
+ Results
+ References

48. The publications of the AOM Academy include the following:
Academy of Management Journal
Academy of Management Review
Academy of Management Perspectives
(formerly Academy of Management Executive)
Academy of Management Learning and Education
Academy of Management Annals
Academy of Management Discoveries

49. Jl. of Applied Psychology
Management Science
Jl. of International Management Studies
Jl. of Management
Administrative Science Quarterly
Organisation Science
Case Research Journal
Jl. of Business Strategies
AOM Learning and Education
Jl. of Management history
AOM Perceptive
Jl. of Management Studies
Public Administrative Quarterly
California Management Review
Personnel Review
…………..
Best 50+ Journals – few cited

50. Making academic research more relevant: A few suggestions
Abinash Pandaa,
Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management Area,
Indian Institute of Management, Kashipur 244713, India
Rajen K. Gupta,
Human Behaviour and Organizational Development Area, MDI Gurgaon, India
on line available…2 August 2014
Recent Debate published……..

51. The papers published in Harvard Business Review
The papers published in AOM
Working papers of Dr. Garvin and Dr. Datar, HBS
Academy of Management Journal: http://aom.pace.edu/amjnew/
Academy of Management Review: http://www.aom.pace.edu/amr/
Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/
Journal of Management: http://journalofmanagement.moore.sc.edu/
acknowledgments…..

52. http://in.linkedin.com/in/mmbagali
Such a pleasure to be with all this
morning !!
thank you all and let us celebrate the work !!!!!