Premium
Evidence‐based Management in Practice: Opening up the Decision Process, Decision‐maker and Context
Author(s) -
Wright April L.,
Zammuto Raymond F.,
Liesch Peter W.,
Middleton Stuart,
Hibbert Paul,
Burke John,
Brazil Victoria
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
british journal of management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.407
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1467-8551
pISSN - 1045-3172
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8551.12123
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , rationality , decision maker , empirical evidence , process (computing) , situated , decision analysis , evidence based management , scientific evidence , evidence based medicine , knowledge management , psychology , management science , sociology , computer science , epistemology , economics , medicine , political science , medline , law , artificial intelligence , paleontology , philosophy , alternative medicine , mathematical economics , pathology , biology , operating system
Evidence‐based management (EBM) has been subject to a number of persuasive critiques in recent years. Concerns have been raised that: EBM over‐privileges rationality as a basis for decision‐making; ‘scientific’ evidence is insufficient and incomplete as a basis for management practice; understanding of how EBM actually plays out in practice is limited; and, although ideas were originally taken from evidence‐based medicine, individual‐situated expertise has been forgotten in the transfer. To address these concerns, the authors adopted an approach of ‘opening up’ the decision process, the decision‐maker and the context (Langley et al . ([Langley, A., 1995]). ‘Opening up decision making: the view from the black stool’, Organization Science , 6, pp. 260–279). The empirical investigation focuses on an EBM decision process involving an operations management problem in a hospital emergency department in Australia. Based on interview and archival research, it describes how an EBM decision process was enacted by a physician manager. It identifies the role of ‘fit’ between the decision‐maker and the organizational context in enabling an evidence‐based process and develops insights for EBM theory and practice.