The problem with [in] management theory

Theory is essential to everything that we do as people studying and practicing industrial/organizational psychology and organizational behavior. But, I think that our field has lost its way recently and become enamored by shiny objects and interesting puzzles. Advancing management theory seems to have become an end state in and of itself. We seemed to be far more concerned with the entertainment value of theories than we are with their scientific rigor or real-world value. Top journals in our field are mandating that all articles must make a theoretical contribution, and theoretical contributions are being gauged primarily in terms of how innovative, counter-intuitive, surprising, and interesting they may be. I advocate for a more balanced approach, and in particular, for greater use of abductive inference. I argue that if you start with a real-world challenge and draw from existing theory, and then develop new theory to understand and change things, you are also making a theoretical contribution. Whether or not we are guided by theory is not really at issueat issue is how well developed are our theories, how accurate are they, and do they help us to improve organizational life for everyone involved?