{"title":"Why is Academia Sometimes Detached from Firms’ Problems? The Unattractiveness of Research on Organizational Decline","authors":"F. Serra, M. Ferreira, I. Scafuto","doi":"10.1590/1807-7692BAR2020200005","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"We examined how scholars decide what they study, scrutinizing researchers’ problem choice. We qualitatively analyzed a survey conducted by e-mail with 40 top management scholars on organizational decline in top-ranked journals. This topic appears to be neglected despite the real life evidence that the performance of firms is declining at an increasingly rapid pace. We conducted a content analysis of motivation to undertake, remain with, or abandon research. We found explanations for what researchers’ study specifically related to concerns over tenure and promotion, difficulty in conducting research, and the general unattractiveness of ‘negative’ themes that lead scholars to avoid a research topic. We contribute to studies on problem choice in management research by explaining why relevant economic and societal research agendas are under-researched. Our findings indicate that motivation not to undertake is related to extrinsic factors. Motivations to remain are usually intrinsic. However, motivations to abandon may be intrinsic, in order to move on to another research project, or extrinsic, depending on the situation. It also serves as a warning that scholars may be paying excessive attention to mainstream theoretical approaches and topics, inhibiting the emergence of new ideas and detracting attention from phenomena that are important for teaching.","PeriodicalId":53636,"journal":{"name":"BAR - Brazilian Administration Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BAR - Brazilian Administration Review","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-7692BAR2020200005","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Business, Management and Accounting","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
We examined how scholars decide what they study, scrutinizing researchers’ problem choice. We qualitatively analyzed a survey conducted by e-mail with 40 top management scholars on organizational decline in top-ranked journals. This topic appears to be neglected despite the real life evidence that the performance of firms is declining at an increasingly rapid pace. We conducted a content analysis of motivation to undertake, remain with, or abandon research. We found explanations for what researchers’ study specifically related to concerns over tenure and promotion, difficulty in conducting research, and the general unattractiveness of ‘negative’ themes that lead scholars to avoid a research topic. We contribute to studies on problem choice in management research by explaining why relevant economic and societal research agendas are under-researched. Our findings indicate that motivation not to undertake is related to extrinsic factors. Motivations to remain are usually intrinsic. However, motivations to abandon may be intrinsic, in order to move on to another research project, or extrinsic, depending on the situation. It also serves as a warning that scholars may be paying excessive attention to mainstream theoretical approaches and topics, inhibiting the emergence of new ideas and detracting attention from phenomena that are important for teaching.
期刊介绍:
Launched in 2004, BAR has an international scope in terms of topics of interest, target audience, and editorial boards. It is an A2-journal according to the Brazilian classification Qualis/Capes, which is thus a strong signal about the quality of published works and about the transparency of the editorial process. BAR follows the editorial principles available in document Best Practices of Scientific Publication, an initiative championed by the Brazilian Academy of Management (ANPAD) that seeks to assist journals to achieve high scholarly standards and enhance their impact as sources for theoretical and applied research. Furthermore, since 2013, BAR is a member of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), what is another signal of efforts made towards adhering to the most rigorous ethical principles in academic publication.