On the societal impact of business research
Abstract
The societal impact of business research has so far remained limited, in part due to contradictions within economic and institutional frameworks, as well as internal barriers in the research community. While market mechanisms prioritize short-term profit and academic workshops aspire to high levels of theoretical rigour, the question of social benefit often becomes stuck between these dual demands. Focusing on Responsible Management Education (RME), social entrepreneurship, and corporate social responsibility (CSR), this study sheds light on how to forge a closer link between theory and practice. It identifies the challenges posed by “soft” funding conditions and difficult-to-compare metrics, and emphasizes that long-term results can only be achieved by promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, ethical and reflective research practices, and broad stakeholder engagement. The author concludes that business research can genuinely fulfil its transformative role only if the relevant institutions–whether public, market-based, or academic–coordinate and purposefully shape their incentives, thereby creating opportunities for innovations that are both theoretically robust and socially beneficial.
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