Rigor and Relevance in Organization Studies

Many organization studies (OS) scholars are motivated by the desire to generate theory and research that is relevant to practicing managers. But concerns about the irrelevance of OS theory and research surfaced early in the field's development and have intensified recently. Many believe that a growing preoccupation with theoretical and methodological rigor underpin the increasing generation of theory and research that is irrelevant to managers. But there is little empirical research on: 1) historical trends in theoretical and methodological rigor, 2) historical trends in relevance, and 3) the relationship between the two. This is partly because the measurement of theoretical and methodological rigor, as well as of relevance, is fraught with conceptual problems. This article describes a study that attempts to address these gaps in our knowledge, partly by tackling the conceptual problems responsible for them. We then present preliminary findings from that study. We conclude by pondering the value of research aimed at assessing the level and determinants of the relevance of OS scholarship.