Abstract
Management science, founded by reflexive practicing managers, is defined today by a discourse dominated and driven by academics’ ideals on theoretical and methodological rigor. However, various stakeholders call for a renewal by the introduction of different collaborative research approaches. Besides questions on ontology, epistemology, and rigor, two fundamental questions still lack a convincing answer:
1.
Can management research contribute to management practice? If so, can practicing managers be convinced of the added value of management research?
2.
Can management research gain from true collaboration with organizations? If so, can academic researchers be convinced of the added value of the true collaboration in management research?
These questions need to be answered not only through academic debates and stakeholder statements but also through real experimentation and reflection based on the results of the collaborations. This chapter uses a series of experiments with collaborative and interdisciplinary management research that have been performed since 1988 at a group of Swedish universities involving Swedish companies and organizations.
By using illustrations from the experiments and their formation, the chapter discusses and analyzes how the strategic discourse and intent expressed by stakeholders are put into action from the perspective of a research organization pursuing a collaborative approach.