1. How Should a Ph.D. View TheProspective of Theory and
PerformCourse: The Case study of AdvancedManagement
TheoryProfessor: Yender McLeePresented by Bing-Hung, Steven,
Chou2014/Oct/02Theory Accurately?
2. AgendaWhen Knowledge Wins: Transcending The Sense &
Nonsense ofAcademic RankingsAbstractIn the Spirit of
ScholarshipAbstractWhat Theory is NotAbstract Contents &
DiscussionEditors Comments: Publishing TheoryRecommendations &
CautionsPaper IdeaDirection & Comments 3. When Knowledge Wins:
Transcending theSense & Nonsense of AcademicRankingsAbstractNot
everything that can be counted counts, andnot everything that
counts can be counted. AlbertEinsteinQuestionsto
SocietyScholarlyContributionAcademicAssessment
SystemsUniversityScholarship 4. In the Spirit of
ScholarshipAbstractManagement ScholarshipLack of
relevanceDysfunction with publication-based scholarly
competitionArgumentJust a lack of awareness of the nature of
scholarshipThe discipline & dedication excel every bit of the
humanspiritThe Olympic Games 5. What Theory is
NotAbstractFive-element parts of an article are not
theoryReferencesDataVariablesDiagramsHypothesesFacilitate the
publication of stronger theoryTest theory: Part v.s. AllUse data:
Illustrative v.s. Definitive 6. What Theory is NotReferences /
CitationsPurposesHelp set the stage for new conceptual
argumentsMisconceptionLike a smoke screen to hide the absence of
theoryWe dont understand the phenomenon in questionThe more, the
betterA book which people praise but dont read.
MarkTwainLinkageExplicit concepts and causal arguments adopted from
citessourcesLink to testing or developing theory 7. What Theory is
NotDataPurposeShow empirical patterns and evidenceProvide useful
support for a theoryMisconceptionTo motivate hypothesesTo
substitute for causal reasoningThe data do not generate theory,
only researchersdo that. Minzburg (1979) 8. What Theory is NotDataA
typical false exampleBrute empiricismThe qualityof worklifeof
unionizedworkerCollectivebargainingprocessUnionmanagementcontractUnionmanagementrelationsUnion
strengthWagesatisfaction & jobsecurityIncrease
joiningjob-relateddecisionContribute tounionization ofteachers
andprofessionals 9. What Theory is NotList of
VariablesPurposeRepresent a logical attempt to cover determinants
of agiven outcomePredictors or controls in multiple regression
equations orLISREL modelsMisconceptionTo make a theoretical
argumentTo explain WHY a set of those are expected to be
strongpredictors 10. What Theory is NotDiagrams / FiguresPurposeA
useful aid in building theoryCausal relationships in a logical
orderingA chain of causationIntervention of variablesRelationship
moderationMisconceptionTo explain WHY the proposed connections will
be observedTo substitute text about the reasonsLogical explanations
are required 11. What Theory is NotHypotheses /
PredictionsPurposeCritical bridge between theory and
dataOperationalize the variables and relationship following froma
logical argumentExplain WHAT is expected to occurMisconceptionTo
explain WHY empirical relationships will occurThe more, the
betterWeak arguments 12. What Theory is NotA good theory explains,
predicts, and delights. Weick (1995)TheoryThe answer to queries of
WHYStrong theory1 or 2 core conceptual statementsBuild a logically
detailed caseSimplicity and interconnectedness 13. What Theory is
NotThe case against theoryJohn Van Maanen (1989)More descriptive
narratives about organization life, basedon intensive ethnographic
workThomas CookIsolate a few successful change effort, but not
realize thecausal nuances underlying any particular outcomeKuhn
(1970)Meta-analysis view the mission of social science to be
anaccumulation of empirical findings rather than ebb and flowof
theoretical paradigm 14. What Theory is
NotRecommendationsJournalsTheory building (Qualitative) v.s. Theory
Testing(Quantitative)Rebalance the selection process between theory
andmethodNot overweighting the theoretical criteria for
qualitativepapersNot underweighting the theoretical contributions
ofquantitative researchLowtheorybut HighmethodHightheory
&HighmethodLowtheory &LowmethodHightheorybut
LowmethodX-axis:TheoryY-axis:Method 15. What Theory is
NotConclusionsBalance the theoretical and empirical sides
ofresearchWould the evidence provided by Freud, Marx, orDarwin meet
the empirical standards of the topjournals in organization
research?Would their work be rejected outright or be giventhe
chance to go through several rounds of revision? 16. Editors
Comments: PublishingTheoryRecommendationsOffer big ideasGive ideas
structureCritique & reviseCautionsDont copyDont LengthenDont
follow a recipeDont Personalize your critiqueDont mistake your
audience 17. Editors Comments: PublishingTheoryOffer big ideasWhat
is my big idea?Expertise / ExperiencesInfluential theories derive
from the observation of real-lifephenomena, not from scholars
struggling to find holes inthe literature Donald Hambrick (1984)New
theory can be intuited through an intellectual loveof the objects
of experience Albert Einstein (1959)MotivationsInteresting problems
18. Editors Comments: PublishingTheoryGive ideas structureOutline
argument & its relationship to existing ideasDavis (1971)A good
beginning, a good middle and a good endContribute to theory and
relevant to management andorganizationsA seamless flow of
ideasHighlight what is interesting and different by
existingliterature 19. Editors Comments: PublishingTheoryCritique
and ReviseComments from expert reviewersConferences and formal
audiencesDaryl Bem (1995)Begin and end the paper with a strong
statement of therelevance of your ideas to important problems that
humanbeings care about. 20. Editors Comments: PublishingTheoryDont
copyDont plagiarize the work of others and that ofyourself
either.Dont lengthenExtraneous citations dont improve the theory
valueof your paper.Proper stepsBuild originaltheoryAdd value
toexistingideasPush
forwardunexploredquestionsChallengeconventionalthinking 21. Editors
Comments: PublishingTheoryDont follow a recipeProposition&
Figure TheorydevelopmentDont personalize your critiqueNo personal
attack on specific peopleCritiquing theory is insufficient to count
as ascientific advanceDont mistake your audiencePublish papers to
correct academy journals 22. Paper
IdeaQualitativeorQuantitativeMethodologyFieldGoal of Research 23.
ReferencesWhen Knowledge Wins: Transcending the Sense &Nonsense
of Academic Rankings (2009) Nancy J. Adler,Anne-Wil HarzingIn the
Spirit of Scholarship (2010) Mike W. Peng, GregoryG. DessWhat
Theory is Not (1995) Robert I. Sutton, Barry M. StawEditor
Comments: Publishing Theory (2006) M. KilduffGoogle
Scholarhttp://scholar.google.com.tw/Googlehttps://www.google.com.twSlidesharehttp://www.slideshare.net/Wikipediahttp://www.wikipedia.org/
