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The Bridge to the ‘Real World’: Applied Science or a ‘Schizophrenic Tour de Force’?*
Author(s) -
Nicolai Alexander T.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of management studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.398
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1467-6486
pISSN - 0022-2380
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2004.00462.x
Subject(s) - eclecticism , context (archaeology) , reputation , epistemology , relevance (law) , perspective (graphical) , sociology of scientific knowledge , sociology , bridge (graph theory) , point (geometry) , knowledge transfer , computer science , knowledge management , political science , philosophy , social science , law , artificial intelligence , history , medicine , geometry , theology , mathematics , archaeology
This article concerns those publications which have received considerable attention in an academic as well as in a practical context. In these rare cases, it seems that it was possible to transfer scientific findings more or less directly into managerial implications. This widely shared view is contrasted with a socials systems perspective. From this point of view there cannot be a direct application of scientific knowledge. This also holds true for the classic examples of applied science. It is argued that even in these cases there is no evidence of linear knowledge transfer but rather ‘Applied Science Fiction’ (ASF). ASF comprises all techniques with which the scientific system reacts to external application pressure without having to relinquish its own self‐referential logic. Different forms of ASF are introduced. These are retrofitting, reputation, symbolic labels and undisciplined eclecticism. The ASF‐concept will be illustrated by Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy . Paradoxically, however, the conventional concept of application and ASF are a barrier for the sustainable relevance of management studies.