Scholarly Impact: A Pluralist Conceptualization

Scholarly Impact: A Pluralist Conceptualization

We critically assess a common approach to scholarly impact that relies almost exclusively on a single stakeholder (i.e., other academics). We argue that this approach is narrow and insufficient, and thereby threatens the credibility and long-term sustainability of the management research community....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Academy of Management learning & education 2014-12, Vol.13 (4), p.623-639
Main Authors: AGUINIS, HERMAN, SHAPIRO, DEBRA L., ANTONACOPOULOU, ELENA P., CUMMINGS, THOMAS G.
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Altmetrics
Business management
Business schools
Conceptualization
Educational research
EXEMPLARY CONTRIBUTIONS
Faculty Evaluation
Knowledge management
Learning
Management education
Management Systems
Management theory
Measurement techniques
Motivation
Performance management
Stakeholders
Studies
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Summary:We critically assess a common approach to scholarly impact that relies almost exclusively on a single stakeholder (i.e., other academics). We argue that this approach is narrow and insufficient, and thereby threatens the credibility and long-term sustainability of the management research community. We offer a solution in the form of a broader and novel conceptual and measurement framework of scholarly impact: a pluralist perspective. It proposes actions that depart from the current win-lose and zero-sum views that lead to false trade-offs such as research versus practice, rigor versus relevance, and research versus service. Our proposed pluralist conceptualization can be instrumental in enabling business schools and other academic units to clarify their strategic direction in terms of which stakeholders they are trying to affect and why, the way future scholars are trained, and the design and implementation of faculty performance management systems. We argue that the adoption of a pluralist conceptualization of scholarly impact can increase motivation for engaged scholarship and design-science research that is more conducive to actionable knowledge as opposed to exclusive career-focused advances, enhance the relevance and value of our scholarship, and thereby help to narrow the much-lamented chasm between research and practice.
ISSN:1537-260X
1944-9585