Engaged Scholarship: A Guide for Organizational and Social Research

Abstract

The relationship between theory and practice, research and action, is fundamental to all fields of applied social science. Should research findings and knowledge be useful for science, practice, and policy? If so, how should such research be designed, carried out and disseminated to achieve the twin goals of rigor and relevance? These challenges are particularly relevant in the applied areas of management and organization studies where there is a distinct responsibility for researchers to engage with the ‘real world’. In this carefully crafted and thoughtful book, leading management researcher Andrew Van de Ven both presents the broad intellectual challenge of ‘engaged scholarship’, and also sets out a clear framework and guidelines for carrying out soundly based and useful research for advancing both science and practice. At a time when some may question the value and status of academic knowledge; and others, contrastingly, urge a closer relationship between researchers and research users – be they businesses, governments or other institutions – the challenge of engaged scholarship is as relevant as ever, and there is a real need for the thoughtful and considered approach offered by Van de Ven. The book both provides a manifesto for engaged scholarship in the social sciences, and clear framework for research design and methodology. It will be an invaluable reference point and guide for academics, researchers and graduate students across the social sciences concerned with rigorous and relevant research in the contemporary world.