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Abstract: Much research in social science and management develops and tests theories about existing phenomena and practice. Researchers who believe that existing practices can be improved, however, can attempt to develop and implement entirely new approaches. Action research engages the researcher in an explicit program to develop new solutions that alter existing practice and then test the feasibility and properties of the innovation. In developing two new management accounting approaches-activity-based costing and the balanced scorecard-my colleagues and I used a particular form of action research, referred to as "innovation action research." In this mode, we initially documented a major limitation in contemporary practice, then identified a new concept to overcome this limitation, and continued to apply and improve the concept through publication, teaching, and active intervention in companies. In this innovation action research cycle, the researcher enhances the underlying theory and, in the process, also becomes a skilled implementer of the new concept.
If social scientists truly wish to understand certain phenomena, they should try to change them. Creating, not predicting, is the most robust test of validity-actionability.
-Kurt Lewin, as quoted in Argyris (1997).
Field research in management is generally associated with (1) crosssectional research, the systematic collection and analysis of data from multiple sites at a point in time, (2) time-series research, collecting and analyzing longitudinal data studies from one or a small number of organizations, and (3) case studies, in-depth, intense study of the experiences of a single organization at a single point in time. Much field research is descriptive. It helps develop theories to explain how the world is and how it maintains itself. Field research can also be used for testing theories. Such theories are generally about stability, equilibrium and optimality. The theories predict that people, or organizations, behave in certain ways. The field researcher collects data that can test whether the actual behavior of individuals and organizations is consistent with the hypotheses in the theory.
But what if some scholars believe that the current practices occurring in companies are not desirable or optimal? What if they believe that new ideas could change the status quo and introduce an improved approach for leading and managing organizations? How do such scholars develop and validate the new ideas?
The scholars...