Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2011
  • Chapter
  • Useful Research: Advancing Theory and Practice

On Knowing and Doing: A Perspective on the Synergies between Research and Practice

By: Michael Tushman
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

The current rigor/relevance debate is a central strategic issue for business schools and their faculty. I argue that ongoing relationships with firms, rooted on the joint acknowledgement of the importance of faculty research by firms and respect for practice by faculty, increase the quality and impact of faculty research. With roles and boundaries clear, such ongoing relationships with firms, particularly those rooted in executive education venues, increase the insightfulness of our research questions and the quality of our data. Such relationships also benefit doctoral training. Further, to the extent that these relationships help faculty translate our field’s research into practice, we are able to live into our institutions' promise to shape managerial practice. These engaged relationships with firms help faculty and their business schools excel in both rigor as well as relevance. This paper provides a personal example of these synergistic relationships and discusses boundary issues associated with these faculty/firm collaborations. Executive education in general, and custom programs in particular, may be an underleveraged vehicle in reducing the rigor/relevance gap between business schools and the world of practice.

Keywords

Business Ventures; Business Education; Executive Education; Practice; Relationships; Research

Citation

Tushman, Michael. "On Knowing and Doing: A Perspective on the Synergies between Research and Practice." In Useful Research: Advancing Theory and Practice, edited by Susan Albers Mohrman and Edward E. Lawler III. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2011.

About The Author

Michael L. Tushman

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • July 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress (B)(C)

    By: Michael Tushman and Kerry Herman
    • July 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress (A)

    By: Michael Tushman and Kerry Herman
    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Senior Team Emotional Dynamics and Strategic Decision Making at a Platform Transition

    By: Timo O. Vuori and Michael L. Tushman
More from the Author
  • Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress (B)(C) By: Michael Tushman and Kerry Herman
  • Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress (A) By: Michael Tushman and Kerry Herman
  • Senior Team Emotional Dynamics and Strategic Decision Making at a Platform Transition By: Timo O. Vuori and Michael L. Tushman
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College