Applied Research Articles: narrowing the gap between research and organizations

Citation

de Mello, A.M. and Pedroso, M. (2018), "Applied Research Articles: narrowing the gap between research and organizations", Revista de Gestão, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 338-339. https://doi.org/10.1108/REGE-10-2018-075

Applied research articles: narrowing the gap between research and organizations

Since 1994, REGE publishes articles with the main objective of adding to the development of scientific knowledge in management. These articles stem from academic research, with relevant theoretical contribution to the field of administration. One of the classical, but still contemporary, discussions about academic research refers to its relevance and impact (Saes et al., 2017; MacIntosh et al., 2017). Traditionally, academic research is supported by scientific and methodological rigor. Despite the need for such accuracy, research cannot do without relevance and impact on society (Vermeulen, 2005).

However, there is a growing discussion on not only how to make management research be understood as relevant, but also how to assess its impact on the academy and society in general. There is a debate on the distance between research and practice, the gap between what the academy research works and the relevance and use of this knowledge by the management community. Although it seems somewhat obvious that management research should spread management policies and practices and vice versa, in a collaborative process, this does not seem to happen in a continuous and productive way for both sides (Saes et al., 2017; Wood, 2017; Banks et al., 2016).

In other words, there is a claim for scientific knowledge developed in the academy to be used for the benefit of organizations and, ultimately, of the society. After all, an important part of scientific research is financed by society, through public research institutions (including state and federal universities) and funding agencies (such as CNPq and FAPESP). In recent years, important initiatives such as the establishment of professional master and PhD programs have increased the discussion and production of applied knowledge, seeking to transfer more directly, to public and private organizations, knowledge produced in the academy, thus making science find business.

In this regard, critical elements of research evaluation consider the following questions: does the scope of research consider a theoretical and/or practical gap? Does the research problem address something new or counter-intuitive? Can research results contribute to theory or to management practices?

These elements are at the heart of what we call here “applied article.” This type of paper is eminently practical – that is, it aims to contribute to the evolution of management practices, by bringing something new or counter-intuitive, or by disseminating concepts and techniques previously developed, but studied in a specific context. Therefore, the relevance of an applied article is mainly associated to its contribution. According to Gregor and Hevner (2013), the following criteria can be used to evaluate it:

1. Innovation: the paper presents new solutions to new problems.

2. Improvement: the paper brings new solutions to known problems.

3. Extrapolation: the paper extends known solutions to new problems.

We can find the expression “applied article” with changes and different designations, such as technical articles, technological reports and technical reports (Motta, 2017). Notwithstanding the distinct names, these papers aim to study or solve a practical problem. The appropriate adoption of a research method can bring greater scientific rigor to this kind of paper.

In summary, applied articles have an approach from practice to theory. Thus, the research objective originates from a practical problem, which is studied or solved through the application of theoretical elements, preferably with the use of scientific methods. Therefore, the target audience of an applied article is researchers and teachers, as well as practitioners – and the latter, within the administration area, are mainly managers that work in public and private organizations.

In this respect, REGE starts publishing also applied articles in its editions. In addition, we launch this “Call for papers” regarding the Special Edition: applied articles, to be published in Number 4 of 2019. The invited Editor will be Dr Marcelo Pedroso, Coordinator of Professional Master in Entrepreneurship from the School of Economics, Business and Accounting at University of São Paulo.

We invite authors to submit papers with relevant practical contributions to management. REGE’s special edition will accept applied articles in the following topics:

• public administration;

• entrepreneurship, innovation and technology;

• strategy;

• financial and accounting management;

• human resources and organizations;

• sustainability;

• marketing; and

• operations.

Adriana Marotti de Mello and Marcelo Pedroso