A Vision of Responsible Research in Business and Management : Striving for Credible and Useful Knowledge

Responsible Research Community of Scholars; McKiernan, Peter. (2016) A Vision of Responsible Research in Business and Management : Striving for Credible and Useful Knowledge. EFMD, Brussels.

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Abstract

This paper presents a vision of a future “Vision 2030” in which business schools and scholars worldwide have successfully transformed their research toward responsible science 3 – defined as research that produces crible and reliable knowledge with either direct or indirect usefulness for addressing problems important to both business and society. 4 This vision is based on the belief that business is a means for a better world. The paper begins with a set of principles to support responsible research. Then, the paper outlines possible actions by different stakeholders to help business schools and scholars that wish to realize this vision. The paper further explains the impetus for the proposal by describing the current business research ecosystem and associated problems, drawing on published work and a Delphi survey of scholars who have written about different aspects of the current research challenges. The major challenge of the current research ecosystem is that the priority of publishing in top tier journals over-shadows considerations of both research quality and societal relevance. The paper ends with a discussion of the “do nothing” option that perpetuates the status quo, and a call to action for directing research toward achieving humanity's highest aspirations. The paper invites discussion and debate on the possibility and necessity of creating a “responsible research” ecosystem so that business and management research can become a force of change for a better world. This White Paper starts us on a journey toward a substantive rethinking of business and management research and, more broadly, about its evolving roles and expectations in society. Our audience goes beyond the higher education community, and we invite broad participation in this discussion. While scholars, editors, university presidents, deans, professional associations, accrediting, funding agencies and the public (through the media) have faulted elements of the current business research ecosystem, Vision 2030 portrays a promising future and advocates principles that underpin its ultimate success.

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