Thursday, September 5, 2019 | 1:30pm-3:00pm | Room 337, HSBC Business School Building

Abstract

At present, more and more management researchers and practitioners feel a huge gap exists between management theory and practice. On the basis of discussing the relationship between theory (“knowledge”) and practice (“action”), this paper analyzes the reasons for the separation of theory and practice, and points out the two dilemmas of “only knowledge but no action” and “actions still need knowledge”. Meanwhile, based on the path analysis of the management research roads of Drucker and March, this paper believes that the roads of Drucker and March can be integrated, and a third road of eliminating the huge gap between management theory and practice can be realized, that is, to manage the “integration of knowledge and action” in academic research. In addition, relying on the principle of yin-yang balance, this paper proposes to improve the “integration of knowledge and action” of academic research by reconstructing the study paradigm, reconstructing evaluation criteria, reshaping application-oriented business schools, and consolidating philosophical foundations. Based on the coupling analysis of asymmetric dynamics of practice and theory, this paper advocates a “co-engaged research” which needs to be focused on.