Managers As Autonomous Action Researchers: A Practice-Centric Framework
Keywords:
Action research, Applied research, Managerial roles, Executive scholars, ManagersAbstract
1 a Researcher, Doctorate of Business Administration, SBS Swiss Business School, Switzerland. b Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Bahrain.
* Corresponding Author. ahh50@hotmail.com
2.a Associate Professor, Accounting & Economics Department, Ahlia University (2014-2018), Kingdom of Bahrain. b Bloomsburg University, Economics Faculty, USA. subhadra.ganguli@gmail.com
Received on 11/4/2020 and Accepted for Publication on 25/2/2021.
Although action research (AR) has been extensively acknowledged in the literature as an exclusive work-based learning project majorly carried out through higher education, no studies -to our best knowledge- proposed AR to be applied as a typical role at the professional management practice level. Therefore, this study sheds light on that existing gap using the literature to support the argument that managers need to practice AR as a key managerial role for learning and change without being necessarily affiliated to an academic program. By reviewing evidence related to AR attributes, approach, application in different managerial roles and its early practice, the study offers a pragmatic and practice-centric framework of AR to support managers in undertaking the role of action researchers autonomously and within the scope of their work. Explicitly, this framework is composed of six building blocks; namely, AR cyclic process, data collection and analysis, experimentation activities, applied knowledge, evidence-based change/improvement and development of executive scholars. These blocks are significantly influenced by three dynamic forces: researching managerial behavior, participation and workgroup and research-driven management culture. The proposed framework implies designing effective organizational policies aimed at integrating AR into management practices and managerial human resource development strategies.
References
Abubakar, A.M., Elrehail, H., Alatailat, M.A., & Elçi, A. 2019. Knowledge Management, Decision-making Style and Organizational Performance. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 4 (2): 104-114.
Abuzaid, A.N. 2018. Employees’ Empowerment and Its Role in Achieving Strategic Success: A Practical Study on Jordanian Insurance Companies. Jordan Journal of Business Administration, 14 (4): 641-660.
Abuzaid, A.N., & Al-Rawashdeh, E.T. 2020. The Effect of High Involvement Management Practices on Achievement Motivation of Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Employees. Jordan Journal of Business Administration, 16 (4): 834-854.
Adelman, C. 1993. Kurt Lewin and the Origins of Action Research. Educational Action Research, 1 (1): 7-24.
Afify, M. 2008. Action Research: Solving Real-world Problems. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 8 (2): 153-159.
Alharthy, A.A.M. 2018. The Role of Knowledge Creation Process in Enhancing Organizational Resilience and Performance. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia.
Bareham, J., Bourner, T., & Stevens, G. R. 2000. The DBA: What Is It for? Career Development International, 5 (7): 394-403.
Bisoux, T. 2009. Solving the Doctoral Dilemma. BizEd, 24-27.
Burns, D. 2007. Systemic Action Research. Bristol: Policy Press.
Canterino, F., Cirella, S., & Shani, A. 2018. Leading Organizational Transformation: An Action Research Study. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 33 (1):15-28.
Carroll, D. 2016. Managing Value in Organizations: New Learning, Management and Business Models. United Kingdom: Routledge.
Carter, S., & Little, M. 2007. Justifying Knowledge, Justifying Method, Taking Action: Epistemologies, Methodologies and Methods in Qualitative Research. Qualitative Health Research, 17 (10): 1316-1328.
Cassell, C., & Johnson, P. 2006. Action Research: Explaining The Diversity. Human Relations, 59 (6): 783-814.
Clyde, L.A. 2006. The Basis for Evidence‐based Practice: Evaluating the Research Evidence. New Library World, 107 (5/6): 180-192.
Coghlan, D., & Brannick, T. 2014. Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization. Los Angeles, Calif., Sage.
Coghlan, D., & Shani, A. 2016. Action Research in Business and Management. 1st Edition, Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Collier, J. 1945. United States Indian Administration As a Laboratory of Ethnic Relations. Social Research: An International Quarterly, 12 (3): 265-303.
Cooke, H. 2016. An Action Research Study of a Leadership Development Programme in the Hotel Industry. Doctoral Thesis, London Metropolitan University, London, United Kingdom.
Corey, S. 1953. Action Research to Improve School Practice. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.
Coughlan, P., & Coghlan, D. 2002. Action Research for Operations Management. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 22 (2): 220-240.
Dent, E. 2002. Developing Scholarly Practitioners: Doctoral Management Education in the 21st Century. In: C. Wankel and R. Defillipi, Eds., 2002. Rethinking Management education for the 21st Century. Greenwich: Information Age Pub.
Drucker, P. 2007. Management Challenges for the 21st Century. London: Routledge.
Eden, C., & Huxham, C. 1996. Action Research for Management Research. British Journal of Management, 7: 75-86.
Efron, S., & Ravid, R. 2013. Action Research in Education. New York: Guilford Press.
Espinoza, R. 2008. Reflections on Using Action Research to Introduce ICT Developments to Support Doctoral Students. Working Papers of the Warwick SUMINER Group, 4: 47-58.
French, S. 2009. Action Research for Practicing Managers. Journal of Management Development, 28 (3): 187-204.
Githens, R. 2015. Critical Action Research in Human Resource Development. Human Resource Development Review, 14 (2): 185-204.
Greenwood, D., & Levin, M. 2007. The Future of Universities: Action Research and the Transformation of Higher Education. In: Peter Reason and Hilary Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of Action Research. 2nd Edn., Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 211-226.
Gummesson, E. 2000. Qualitative Methods in Management Research. Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage Publ.
Hinkelmann, K., & Kempthorne, O. 2005. Design and Analysis of Experiments: Advanced Experimental Design, Vol. 2. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Kang, C.M., Chiu, H.T., Hu, Y.C., Chen, H.L., Lee, P.H., & Chang, W.Y. 2012. Comparisons of Self‐ratings on Managerial Competencies, Research Capability, Time Management, Executive Power, Workload and Work Stress among Nurse Administrators. Journal of Nursing Management, 20 (7): 938-947.
Karlsen, J.I. 1991. Action Research As a Method. In: W.F. Whyte, Ed., Participatory Action Research. Sage Publications, New York, Ch.10.
Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. 2007. Participatory Action Research: Communicative Action and the Public Sphere. In: Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y., Eds., Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry. Sage, Thousand Oaks, 271-330.
Levy, P., Tseng, S., Rosen, C., & Lueke, S. 2017. Performance Management: A Marriage between Practice and Science – Just Say “I Do”. In: M. Ronald Buckley, Anthony R. Wheeler & Jonathon R.B. Halbesleben (Eds.), Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 35: 155-213.
Lewin, K. 1946. Action Research and Minority Problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2 (4): 34-46.
Lim, C., Kim, M., Kim, K., Kim, K., & Maglio, P. 2018. Using Data to Advance Service: Managerial Issues and Theoretical Implications from Action Research. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 28 (1): 99-128.
Lipsey, R., Carlaw, K., & Bekar, C. 2012. Economic Transformations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Majors, I. 2010. ICT and Knowledge Management Models for Promotion of SME Competitiveness. The International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society: Annual Review, 6 (3): 173-184.
Maklan, S., Knox, S., & Ryals, L. (2008). The Use of Action Research in Marketing Strategy Development. In: 37th European Marketing Academy Conference (EMAC 2008), Brighton, 27 May 2008.
Marshall, J., Coleman, G., & Reason, P. 2017. Leadership for Sustainability: An Action Research Approach. Oxfordshire: Routledge.
McNiff, J., & Whitehead, J. 2002. Action Research in Organizations. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Mero, N. 2009. To Make Our DBA Program Work, We Knew We Had to Look at Models That Were Different from Traditional U.S. Models. BizEd, 28-31.
Mintzberg, H. 1975. The Manager’s Job: Folklore and Fact. Harvard Business Review, 56-62.
Mintzberg, H. 1989. Mintzberg on Management: Inside Our Strange World of Organizations. New York: Free Press.
Mohamed, M., Murray, A., & Mohamed, M. 2010. The Role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Mobilization of Sustainable Development Knowledge: A Quantitative Evaluation. Journal of Knowledge Management, 14 (5): 744-758.
Nilsen, P. 2015. Making Sense of Implementation Theories, Models and Frameworks. Implementation Science, 10 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-015-0242-0
Park, C. 2005. New Variant PhD: The Changing Nature of the Doctorate in the UK. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 27 (2): 189-207.
Perry, C., & Sankaran, S. 2002. Method of Collecting and Analyzing Information While Conducting Action Research in Organizations for Academic Research, 15th World Congress of Sociology, Brisbane, Australia, July 7-13.
Perry, C., & Zuber-Skerritt, O. 1992. Action Research in Graduate Management Research Programs. Higher Education, 23 (2): 195-208.
Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R.I. 2006. Evidence-based Management. Harvard Business Review, 84 (1): 62.
Phelps, R., & Hase, S. 2005. Complexity and Action Research: Exploring the Theoretical and Methodological Connections. Educational Action Research, 10 (3): 507-524.
Quinn, K. 2014. Action Research for Business, Non-profit and Public Administration: A Tool for Complex Times. Action Learning: Research and Practice, 11 (1): 104-106.
Reason, P. 2006. Choice and Quality in Action Research Practice. Journal of Management Inquiry, 15 (2): 187-203.
Reay, T., Berta, W., & Kohn, M.K. 2009. What's the Evidence on Evidence-based Management? Academy of Management Perspectives, 23 (4): 5-18.
Rousseau, D.M., & Olivas‐Luján, M.R.2015. Evidence-based Management. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1002/978111 8785317.weom110013
Salehi, F., & Yaghtin, A. 2015. Action Research Innovation Cycle: Lean Thinking As a Transformational System. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 181: 293-302.
Salehi, F., & Yaghtin, A. 2015. Action Research Innovation Cycle: Lean Thinking As a Transformational System. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 181: 293-302.
Sankaran, S., & Ranjan, M. 2010. Implementing Organizational Change Using Action Research in Two Asian Cultures. Paper Presented at PMI® Research Conference: Defining the Future of Project Management, Washington, DC. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Shani, A.B., & Pasmore, W.A. 1985. Organization Inquiry: Towards a New Model of the Action Research Process. In: D.D. Warrick (Ed.). Contemporary Organization Development: Current Thinking and Applications (438-448). Scott Foresman and Company: Glenview, ILL.
Smith, S., Jamieson, R., & Winchester, D. 2007. An Action Research Program to Improve Information Systems Security Compliance across Government Agencies. In: R. H. Sprague (Ed.). Proceedings of the 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 3-6 January 2007, Big Island, Hawaii: Abstracts and CD-ROM of Full Papers (1-10). Los Alamitos, Calif.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Stouten, J., Rousseau, D.M., & De Cremer, D. 2018. Successful Organizational Change: Integrating the Management Practice and Scholarly Literatures. Academy of Management Annals, 12 (2): 752-788.
Tangkar, M., & Arditi, D. (2000). Innovation in the Construction Industry. Civil Engineering Dimension, 2 (2): 96-103.
Taylor, F. 2012. The Principles of Scientific Management. Auckland: The Floating Press.
Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. 2003. Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review. British Journal of Management, 14 (3): 207-222.
Vinkenburg, C., Koopman, P., & Jansen, P. 2001. Managerial Behavior and Decision-making; Personal and Situational Factors. In: C. Allwood and M. Selart (Eds.). Decision Making: Social and Creative Dimensions, 1st Edn., Netherlands: Springer, 211.
