Bridging The Chasm Between Management Education, Research, And Practice: Moving Towards The ~Grounded Theory~ Approach

This paper addresses the issue of best-practice research methodology in management. It is argued that management research should follow what is known as 'Grounded theory,' or what Harvard Business School Professor, Robert Kaplan, termed as "Innovation action research." Today, management research is found following an inappropriate model, the hypothetic scientific method designed for laboratory research in the natural sciences. This is unsuitable for management and not aligned with case-based pedagogy, action learning or reality-based executive programs. The result is a painful disconnect between management research and management teaching.