Bringing the organization into organizational research: An examination of academic research inside organizations

Sara L. Rynes, D. Brian McNatt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

One common suggestion for reducing the gap between research and practice is for academics to conduct more of their research in real organizational settings. However, there is considerable skepticism among academics about the willingness of organizations to open their doors to researchers, and among both academics and practitioners about the potential value of doing so. The present study examines how 141 successful academic research projects in real organizations proceeded from start to finish. Our results suggest that organizations may be more open to academic research than is commonly believed, and that most researchers experience few problems with participating organizations. On the other hand, most of the examined projects were not heavily collaborative, and only half of the researchers maintained organizational contact after the research was completed. Based on our findings, we offer suggestions for researchers wishing to do organizational research as well as for their organizational partners.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3-19
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Business and Psychology
Volume16
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001

Keywords

  • Academic research in organizations
  • Research collaborations
  • Research-practice gap

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