Time to Take Off the Theoretical Straightjacket and (Re-)Introduce Phenomenon-Driven Research

Abstract

Recently, at an Academy of Management meeting workshop, reflecting on the field, Warner Burke asked “where are the new models and theories of change?” This provocative question has been pondered within organization studies and specifically on organization theory for several decades. And yet it persists. Borrowing this debate, in this essay we reverse the question to consider whether theory might be the problem in change research. Specifically, we argue that theory has become a (figurative) straightjacket. Far from advancing debate as significantly as has regularly been assumed, an obsession with theory and a narrow understanding of what constitutes a contribution could be hampering the development of knowledge about change. The criteria for publishing organizational research are increasingly focused on adding to specific and already existing theory. As a challenge to the restrictions that have become convention, we decode what this theoretical straightjacket looks like, and query why change researchers have willingly gone down this path, shutting down other promising opportunities. In response, we present phenomenon-driven research as a possible solution. It is time for change researchers to reclaim our heritage and take off the theoretical straightjacket.