Building theory from practice

The relationship between management research and practice is expanding in response to growing demand for research that is relevant to business and society, contributing in active and visible ways to the generation of wealth and competi-tiveness. Expectations of relevance come from many different sectors: univer-sities, students, politicians, business leaders and funding agencies, to name a few. These trends signal a shift away from the prominence of science in social science, to a stronger emphasis on the social significance of social science to society. As management researchers, this appeal for social relevance poses chal-lenges for the way we construct our theories and how we conceive their implica-tions. In this essay we suggest one way to strengthen the relevance of management research. It entails shifting from a logic of building management practice from theory to one of building management theory from practice. Some management researchers are already hard at work redefining the social role of management theory. They converge on a definition of our role as pro-viding practical relevance through theory for those who lead and work in orga-