Management research: a few challenges

Citation

Yadav, S.S. and Shankar, R. (2009), "Management research: a few challenges", Journal of Advances in Management Research, Vol. 6 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/jamr.2009.42606baa.001

Management research: a few challenges

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Advances in Management Research, Volume 6, Issue 2.

Management research is a vast area: it serves as the engine of the present knowledge-base economy. Intellectual capital is finding a formal place in the financial balance sheet of a company. Social norms as well as formal laws have evolved and are evolving, which protect these intangible assets. In the area of business management, a large number of research papers, books and business articles are appearing every day. One can argue that the majority of these do not add significantly to the related body of knowledge but certainly they help in generating and sustaining interest, both in academia and in industry.

There is a need to improve the quality of management research. To this end, we all need to think about an approach towards helping researchers. While journals seek quality papers, not many are helping researchers by telling them how to produce them. Sometimes, the reviewers' comments are sketchy – pointing out the shortcomings of the paper, but not commenting on how to actually improve the paper. There are obvious reasons for this. Also, at this stage of review, it may be too late to redesign the research methodology. Therefore, proper training and guidance is a must in contemporary management research. Still, it is not easy to list all the whys and hows of management research and we look forward to some contributions from potential authors on this broader theme.

To set the ball rolling, we have some initial thoughts on the subject. Research has proved to be the backbone of the development process of management discipline. Both academia and industries have equally benefited from this. The contribution of Frederick Taylor towards the principle of scientific management and related areas is a glaring example. Many theories such as in the area of “work & motion study” have come from industry. However, there is a larger number of similar research outcomes, which look heavily loaded with academic rigor. Modeling and simulation of business systems is just an example of this type of research. In literature, there are not many reported papers that deal with the hows and the whys of management research. We invite papers that can respond to this need.

Development of management theories is an art as well as a science. It also requires academic rigor and experience in research. We look forward to contributions which can unfold this process in relatively simple ways, so that researchers can take full advantage of the researches. Sometimes, management research journals and PhD theses are heavily loaded with empirical research, which does require considerable effort in data collection and analysis. We have plans to encourage articles which can help new researchers in designing their research problem and dovetailing data collection tools and analysis of collected data with the problem so identified.

Development of an insightful case study is not as easy as it appears to the readers of the case studies. Many a time, firms are reluctant to share information for the development of a case study. Proper articulation, flow and encapsulation of case learning require special skill. We invite articles which can serve this purpose. We believe that case studies are an important component of management education. Many business schools derive strength from well-designed case studies. Teaching notes with a case study are generally useful to the faculty as well. We hope that we will keep receiving contributions from our esteemed author(s) in the form of case studies.

Another challenge that we are facing today is related to proper deployment of management research in the practising world. Today managers, working in real-time environments, are facing a lot of challenges. Do these practising managers have enough time to read our research findings? They depend heavily on business newspapers and magazines. There is nothing wrong in that but we need to find ways through which our rigorous research papers can add value for them also. Through JAMR, we are encouraging authors to add a section on managerial insights, which can provide important takeaways from their papers.

The present issue of JAMR contains five well-researched papers addressing different aspects of management. Ms Chan-orn Bongsebandhu-phubhakdi, Prof. Tomoko Saik and Prof Hiroshi Osada have identified the key factors for management of technology and human resources in Thai automotive parts companies. They stress that enhancement of employee support is useful for domestic companies and there are significant differences among companies at the levels of tier 1 or 2 and tier 3 in different areas of quality management and management of technology. In the next paper of this issue of JAMR, Dr Reza Farzipoor Saen has used data envelopment analysis for selecting slightly non-homogeneous vendors. The author has concluded that by using this method, the practical difficulty of vendor selection is considerably reduced.

In another paper, Mr Apratul Chandra Shukla, Prof. S.G. Deshmukh and Prof. Arun Kanda have taken up the most talked about issue in supply chain management. They have identified various practices of environmentally and socially conscious supply chain management in the context of the automobile industry in India. They found that environmentally and socially responsive supply chains are in the early adoption stages in India. The status and direction of this sector is well captured in this paper. This study should be useful in addressing problems in green supply chain design and operations. Practising managers too would find this useful.

Pricing decisions in the telecommunication area have been a matter of great debate in almost all countries and sometimes they have generated a good deal of controversies also. Dr Claudine Neethling conducted a case study to illustrate how real options analysis may be applied to achieve the goal of right pricing of radio frequency spectrum in South Africa. It is suggested that the primary price of a licence will vary according to the profit an entity expects to realize rather than the licence having one fair value price.

Management research must help unorganized sectors as well as rural development process. Effective technology transfer to these is a difficult job. Dr Nirmal Kumar, and his co-researchers have identified the important elements (variables) affecting technology transfer in the rural housing sector and developed a model that shows the relationships between the variables. The research shows that there exists a group of variables having a high driving power and low dependence and these require careful attention.

In line with our journal's objectives, Prof. Adivar and Prof. Yurt have developed a case related to line haul optimization technique and its ability to analyze and solve problems on transportation management. They have also included some inputs that can help a faculty to use this case study in a classroom.

There is a very apt verse in Gita, the most revered book in India, which is in Sanskrit, one of the richest ancient languages of our time. The verse extols the value of knowledge. It goes like this, “na hi gyanen sadrasham pavitramiha vidyate; tatswayam yog sansidhah kalenatmani vindati.” It means, “there is nothing more pure than knowledge in this world; whoever is established in knowledge derives a joy from it at the desired moment.” And therefore, in this spirit, we welcome our readers and authors to be part of this journey of sharing and disseminating knowledge. We also welcome constructive feedback for the improvement of the journal.

Professor Surendra S. Yadav and Professor Ravi ShankarDepartment of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India