Theory building

理論構築について何かいいリソースはないかと思っていたら、ぴったりの内容をAOM(Academy of Management)のサイトで見つける：Theory Building Resources

以下、参考になると思った箇所の抜粋。1: Bergh, D. (2003).  From the Editors: Thinking strategically about contribution.

  • “determining whether a manuscript would be accepted or rejected was the strength and importance of the study it reported.”
  • “thinking about manuscripts as “firms” competing for limited resources”
    1. the firm must match its environment (the manuscript must match its journal
    2. the closer the link, the higher the performance(the higher the likelihood of publication)
  • “methodological features without an attendant theoretical contribution do not fare well”(at AMJ)
  • “why the methodological advance is important”
  • 3 Tests
    1. the contribution is valuable; adding an insight that is important and relevant for other researchers and/or practitioners
    2. the content of the contribution is imitable; specific to the theory that it is trying to extend or revise
    3. rareness; a contribution is surprising and unexpected, a novel and unique insight

2: Fulmer, I. S. (2012).  Editor’s Comments: The Craft of Writing Theory Articles-Variety and Similarity in AMR

  • “a necessary part of the crafting is in the conceptualization of good theory, but equally important is structuring the paper well”
  1. The Title and Abstract:
    • to clearly name and describe the core constructs and aims of the article
  2. Organization of Major Sections:
    1. roughly map onto the conceptual model depicted in the first figure of their article
    2. key constructs are identified and defined in the introduction or in the first formal section
    3. offering suggestions for managerial practice
  3. Propositions and Other Tools
    • propositions themselves are clearly worded, using the same terminology as is used in the rest of the paper
  4. The Use of Tables and Figures
    1. the propositions are labeled as such (P1, P2, etc.) in the relevant figure.

3: Corley, K. & Gioia, D. (2011) Building theory about theory building: What constitutes a theoretical contribution?

  • a complete theory must contain four essential elements(e.g., Dubin, 1978): What, How, Why and Who-Where-When
    • “What and How describe, Why explains”
    • “What and How provide a framework for interpreting patterns, or discrepancies, in our empirical observations”
    • What
      • comprehensiveness and parsimony
    • How
      • “How are they related?”
      • a visual representation often clarifies the author’s thinking and increases the reader’s comprehension
    • Why
      • “What are the underlying psychological, economic, or social dynamics that justify the selection of factors and the proposed causal relationship?”
      • “Why should colleagues give credence to this particular representation of the phenomena?”
      • “it commonly involves borrowing a perspective from other fields”
    • Who, Where, When
      • “these conditions place limitations on the propositions generated from a theoretical model”
      • “few theorists explicitly focus on the contextual limits of their propositions”
  • Contribution to Theory Development 
    1. proposed improvements addressing only a single element of an existing theory are seldom judged to be sufficient.
    2. theoretical critiques should marshal compelling evidence
    3. theoretical critiques should propose remedies or alternatives
  • Factors Considered in Judging Conceptual Papers
    1. What’s new?
      • “Does the paper make a significant, value-added contribution to current thinking?”
    2. So What?
      • “Will the theory likely change the practice of organizational science in this area?”
    3. Why so?
      •  “Are the underlying logic and supporting evidence compelling?”
    4. Well done?
      • “Does the paper reflect seasoned thinking, conveying completeness and thoroughness?”
    5. Done well?
      • “Is the paper well written? Does it flow logically? “
    6. Why now?
      • “Is this topic of contemporary interest to scholars in this area?”
    7. Who cares?
      • “What percentage of academic readers are interested in this topic?”

4: Byron, K., & Thatcher, S. M. (2016). Editors’ comments:“What I know now that I wish I knew then”—Teaching theory and theory building. 

  • How Do You Build a Good Theory?
    • Exercises
      1. writing a paragraph explaining the basic idea and why it is important
      2. creating a visual presentation, where relevant, of what the model looks like ( e.g., a flowchart, a process model, a 2 × 2 matrix)
      3. explaining the idea verbally
      4. creating an annotated bibliography of approximately fifty articles that explains how each article relates to your idea
      5. developing a set of propositions
      6. writing a “bare-bones” draft of the paper that outlines the basic logic of your model.

5: Ragins, B. R. (2012). Editor’s Comments: Reflections on the Craft of Clear Writing

  • Writing is a craft, but when it is done well, it becomes an art.
    • The Hook: Creating a Tasty Appetizer
      • “I like the last line of the first paragraph to provide a brief preview of the intended contribution, with more comprehensive statement of the intended contribution somewhere within the first 3 pages”
        • 1st paragraph
          • specifying the stream of literature that you’re contributing to
        • 2nd paragraph
          • articulating what problem(s) you’re trying to solve
        • 3rd paragraph
          • answer the question: How will you solve the problem(s) that you have identified?
    • Creating Coherence and Cohesion: Knowing your Ingredients
      • Write the entire story line as bullets on one page
      • Read the topic sentence of each paragraph alone, and see if you are developing a point in each section illustrative of the ideas you want to develop
    • Getting to the Core: Embracing the Lean Cuisine Approach
      • After writing the first draft, going back and justifying the need for each and every one of the para[graphs]

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