Recommended Practices for Academics to Initiate and Manage Research Partnerships With Organizations

Abstract

Although academics can receive considerable training in selecting appropriate research designs, types of data to collect, and methods for analyzing data, as well as guidance on preparing scholarly manuscripts, there is a dearth of information on how to initiate and manage partnerships with organizations in order to conduct high-quality applied research, particularly when the research is quantitative in nature. In this article, we provide our own experience-based insights and recommendations to help academics more easily (a) initiate a research relationship with senior organizational leadership, (b) decide early whether to pursue or end a research collaboration with an organization, (c) keep the organization engaged during the study, and (d) maintain the relationship with the organization after data collection is complete. This information is proposed as a complement to traditional organizational research methods and as instrumental in the pursuit of research salient to the interests of organizational practitioners.

Art of the Sale: Recommendations for Sharing Research With Mainstream Media and Senior Leaders

“…Stories are, at the core, retellings of real-life experiences (Schank & Berman, 2002). Relatedly, Lapierre et al (2018) suggested that should "refer to any previous experience in implementing valuable change" (p. 560) as a way to indicate one's credentials and expertise. Stories are particularly useful from a sales perspective.…”

“…In addition to the suggestions made by the authors of the focal article (Lapierre et al, 2018), it is also important for academics to market themselves and keep their information up to date. As a practitioner, I sometimes end up…”

TL;DR: Focus on the Relationships, and Partnerships Will Come

“…Other partnerships have been less fruitful, largely because both science and organizations are messy and unpredictable. But no matter the outcome, nearly all of our partnerships have come about in the same way-a way overlooked by the authors in their article (Lapierre et al, 2018).…”

Allies From Within: I-O Practitioners in Organizations

“…The focal article (Lapierre et al, 2018) highlights many good suggestions but only briefly mentions partnering with an academically trained internal industrial and organizational (I-O) practitioner. We believe beginning a partnership with a similarly trained ally well-versed through training in academic language and through experience in "business speak" will yield a stronger end result.…”