Replication and Theory Development in Organizational Science: A Critical Realist Perspective

In this article we assess, from a critical realist perspective, the role played by replication in theory development. We first present a concise review of critical realism and then reply to the objection that replication is not possible in the social sciences. We go on to classify replications into six types along two dimensions. Finally, we present a detailed argument for the significance of replication in social science research and propose a multifocal pattern of knowledge accumulation to be integrated with the scattered pattern commonly found in organizational science.