We all want to develop impactful and valuable theories, but what do we mean by ‘theory’? In this ... more We all want to develop impactful and valuable theories, but what do we mean by ‘theory’? In this piece, we reply to the four readers’ comments on a recent paper in which we propose a theory typology that, in comparison to existing literature, offers a considerably broader, more pluralistic and, at the same time, more precise definition of the meaning(s) of ‘theory’ within academia. In their comments, the readers raise several insightful points that encourage us to further clarify the theory typology, as well as to expand on how it can be useful for researchers in marketing and social science more broadly.
Pre-understanding – our presuppositions of reality – underlies all research. Many researchers pro... more Pre-understanding – our presuppositions of reality – underlies all research. Many researchers probably also draw productively on their pre-understanding in their studies. However, very few rationales and methodological resources exist for how researchers can enrich their research by mobilizing their pre-understanding more actively and systematically. We elaborate and propose a framework for how researchers more actively, systematically and visibly can bring forward their pre-understanding and use it as a positive input in research, alongside formal data and theory. In particular, we show how researchers, in dialogue with data and theory, can mobilize their pre-understanding as an interpretation-enhancer and horizon-expander throughout the research process, including stimulating imagination and idea generation, broadening the empirical base, and evaluating what empirical material and theoretical ideas are interesting and relevant to pursue.
This paper argues that scholarly work is increasingly situated in narrowly circumscribed areas of... more 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 invest 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.
We all want to develop impactful and valuable theories, but what do we mean by ‘theory’? In this ... more We all want to develop impactful and valuable theories, but what do we mean by ‘theory’? In this piece, we reply to the four readers’ comments on a recent paper in which we propose a theory typology that, in comparison to existing literature, offers a considerably broader, more pluralistic and, at the same time, more precise definition of the meaning(s) of ‘theory’ within academia. In their comments, the readers raise several insightful points that encourage us to further clarify the theory typology, as well as to expand on how it can be useful for researchers in marketing and social science more broadly.
Pre-understanding – our presuppositions of reality – underlies all research. Many researchers pro... more Pre-understanding – our presuppositions of reality – underlies all research. Many researchers probably also draw productively on their pre-understanding in their studies. However, very few rationales and methodological resources exist for how researchers can enrich their research by mobilizing their pre-understanding more actively and systematically. We elaborate and propose a framework for how researchers more actively, systematically and visibly can bring forward their pre-understanding and use it as a positive input in research, alongside formal data and theory. In particular, we show how researchers, in dialogue with data and theory, can mobilize their pre-understanding as an interpretation-enhancer and horizon-expander throughout the research process, including stimulating imagination and idea generation, broadening the empirical base, and evaluating what empirical material and theoretical ideas are interesting and relevant to pursue.
This paper argues that scholarly work is increasingly situated in narrowly circumscribed areas of... more 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 invest 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.
Uploads
Papers by Jörgen Sandberg