This paper examines the relationship between theory and practice and suggests that organization studies remain largely preoccupied with a notion of ‘theory’ as an abstract, generalized concept. This preoccupation ignores the essentially engaged character of all practices, including those of academic theorizing. Drawing on the premises of practice theory, we outline a view of theorizing as engaged practice. In doing so, we are faced with two key implications. First, this view emphasizes the activities that make up the practice of ‘theorizing’, thus shifting the focus from reifying separations of distinct realms of ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ towards an appreciation of the myriad of overlaps between academic and organizational practices. Second, the practice perspective forwarded in this paper illuminates the problems experienced in attempts to transfer academic work to organizational practice. We suggest that this perspective invites us to more fundamentally revise our understanding of the possibilities of relevance for organization and management studies towards ‘lighting up’ new ways of seeing, instead of attempting to offer solutions to immediate ‘practical’ concerns.
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