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Methodological Challenges
A Conceptual Framework for Good Management Research
Conceptually, three principles can be said to be central to good
management research. These principles are not intended to be comprehensive of all
that is to be expected of good management research but do serve as key criteria for
judging the value of such research.
First, the research should be internally valid. Internally
valid research is research that minimizes the number and degree of confounding
factors relative to study results. For example, a study may report a relationship
between the use of self-directed teams and employee productivity, but the research
should be designed such that other common determinants of employee productivity
are eliminated or limited as competing explanations for the reported relationship
between organizational structure and productivity.
Second, the research should be externally valid. As noted,
management research seeks to contribute to both theoretical and applied knowledge.
In the quest to contribute to theoretical knowledge, management research should
produce results that can be generalized beyond the confines of what is directly
measured and observed in a particular. Thus, in our previous example of self-directed
teams and employee productivity, the use of self-directed teams may be related at
least in part to the broader construct of organizational structure, more specifically
the degree to which decision-making is centralized/decentralized. For management
research to be externally valid, care must be taken in the selection, measurement
and operationalization of variables. Of course some management research is
conducted at managers' request with a very applied orientation and may have
no explicit or implicit objective of contributing to theory. While purely
applied management research is appropriate under certain circumstances, for
the field of management research to progress, research is needed that is both
externally and internally valid.
Third, the research should have immediate or potential
relevance to managers. In keeping with the objective to contribute to applied
knowledge, the results of management research should offer managers insight
about the work they do and how they carry out their work more effectively and
efficiently.
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