Theory and practice across disciplines: implications for the field of management

Abstract

Purpose -The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate about the existence and nature of a "gap" between theory and practice in management. Design/methodology/approach -The putative theory/practice "gap" in management is investigated by examining the theory/practice debate in three cognate fields -economics, nursing and marketing. Findings -The relationship between theory and practice is actively debated in all three of the fields. In economics, criticism has been directed at the implicit ontological assumptions made in formal mathematical methods employed by orthodox neoclassical economists. In nursing the debate has centred on the practical issues associated with implementing evidence based practice; in particular identifying and seeking to overcome barriers to implementation. In marketing, managers find most academic theory difficult to read and irrelevant; this may be because the goals of academics and the goals of practitioners are different. Research limitations/implications -Potentially fruitful topics for further research are identified at the pragmatic, epistemological and ontological levels. Originality/value -The paper identifies lessons for the field of management research from economics, nursing and marketing. Each of these three areas provides a unique lens through which to view the research/practice "gap" in management.

Bridging the relevance-ranking chasm: mission impossible?

“…Practitioners often see little, if any, relevance of management research to them (e.g. Gioia and Corley, 2002;Brennan, 2008;Fendt et al, 2008;Kuusela et al, 2014;Banks et al, 2016) despite efforts to the contrary. For example, Arlbjørn et al, (2008) emphasize the importance of researchbased education, especially within the Danish context, where the Government has enshrined this principle in law.…”

Evidence-Based Marketing: A Perspective on the ‘Practice - Theory Divide’

“…Nurses, for example, are encouraged by their employers . Managers insist on evidence, question the authority of evidence, and provide access to a good range of information sources, Evidence-based practice is high on organisational agendas, and is linked to innovation, creativity and learning (Brennan 2008) . Evidence-based practice can also be promoted by knowledge intermediaries, who may be members of, or have a strong relationship with, clinical and other decision-making teams .…”

“…There is well-established recognition of the importance of marketing research as a process and a collection of techniques through which managers and marketers gather intelligence about their customers, competitors and marketplaces . In addition, a number of authors have discussed what they describe as the academic-practitioner divide (Brennan & Ankers 2004) or the research-practice gap (Brennan 2008) or have demonstrated the difference between practitioner knowledge and academic knowledge (Gambetti & Graffigna 2010) . Yet, to date, there has been no explicit consideration of the applicability of the concepts of evidence-based practice or evidence-based management in the marketing area .…”

“…More insights need to be developed into the way in which evidence of all kinds, including intuition, informs marketing actions, decision-making and innovation . In particular, it is important for both practitioners and academics to understand how practical advice and decisions can emerge from a mix of research and appraisal of current practice (Brennan 2008) .…”

An Investigation of Theory and its Application in Investment Management Education-Case of Pakistan

“…Moscardo and Norris (2005) have made an effort to bridge academic practitioner gap in event management by training students with market oriented assignments. As Brennan (2008) debated on the solutions of theory practice gap across the disciplines of economics, nursing and marketing.…”