Understanding "expert" scientists : implications for management and organization research

Dörfler, Viktor and Eden, Colin (2019) Understanding "expert" scientists : implications for management and organization research. Management Learning, 50 (5). 534 –555. ISSN 1350-5076 (https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507619866652)

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Abstract

This article contributes to the debate about rigor and relevance in management and organization research. The contribution derives from an empirical inquiry into the view of the research process of acknowledged experts in scientific research: Nobel Laureates. The research was conducted through loosely structured in-depth interviews with, and background information about, 19 of these expert researchers. The analysis of the interviews suggests emergent themes of the process of successful research that are likely to be relevant to the conduct of management and organization research. We focus on three themes from our interviews: the role of the “big leap” and its relationship to intuition; the significance of seeing both the “big picture” and the detail; and the ways of building and developing successful research teams. We set out our findings from the interviews in the context of the literature from history and philosophy of science and examine the implications for management and organization research.

ORCID iDs

Dörfler, Viktor ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8314-4162 and Eden, Colin;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:68823
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    1 November 2019
    Published
    16 September 2019
    Published Online
    10 July 2019
    Accepted
    26 March 2019
    Submitted
    Keywords:research design, research teams, intuition, master-apprentice relationship, expert scientists, Management. Industrial Management, Strategy and Management, Management Science and Operations Research, Management of Technology and Innovation, SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    Subjects:Social Sciences > Industries. Land use. Labor > Management. Industrial Management
    Department:Strathclyde Business School > Management Science
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:11 Jul 2019 14:17
    Last modified:25 May 2023 09:40
    Related URLs:
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/68823
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