Research and research methods are extremely important tools in academic scholarship. At the core of every research method lies the hypothesis. Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification in Organizational Studies focuses on developing a cogent theory that leads to the specification of a hypothesis that can be taken up for subsequent empirical examination. Thus, it serves as a concise and holistic guide to such theory building. It breaks down the process of theory building into its component steps and explains each of them, starting with formative concepts of theory, units of theory, principles and processes of theory, to explaining theory building for hypothesis specification in organizational studies.
The key areas covered in the book are:
- Introduction to theory building.
- Theory in the context of reality, knowledge, science and research.
- Role of theory in research.
- Units of theory.
- Process and practice of theory building.
- Observations and examples from published research.
- Extensions of theory building for hypothesis specification.
The uniqueness of the book lies in its focus on theory building for the specific purpose of hypothesis creation, rather than for propounding any grand theory, idea or concept. It is enhanced with insightful thoughts and citations of other great thinkers and researchers of international repute.
The book will serve as essential reading material for research methods courses in various research degree programmes such as M Phil and PhD and Fellow programmes in Management. It will be useful for researchers in the areas of organizational behavior, human resource management, organization theory, strategy and policy and marketing.
Table of Contents:
Preface
An Introduction to Theory Building and this Book
Theory in the Broader Context of Reality, Knowledge, Science, and Research
Theory: What it is and its Role in Research
Units of Theory
Some Aspects of the Process of Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification
Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification: Observations and Examples from Published Research
Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification: Some Extensions
References
Index
About the Author :
Badrinarayan Shankar Pawar was Professor, Organisational Behavior and Human Resources, at the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode. He has taught at various institutes including Oklahoma State University (mostly as a teaching associate during his PhD studies), City University of Hong Kong (1997–2001), Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India (2001–2005), and XLRI School of Business and Human Resources (2007–2008).
He has taught various subjects including human resource management, organizational behavior-related subjects, business research methods, research methods, and advanced research methods.
Dr Pawar received his PhD from Oklahoma State University in 1996. He also received the membership of Phi Kappa Phi in recognition of his academic performance in the PhD program.
His coauthored/solo academic works include papers published in Academy of Management Review, Long Range Planning, Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Journal of Business Ethics, Best Papers Proceedings of the Academy of Management, a chapter in Handbook of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (2005, Nova Science Publishers, Inc.), and paper presentations at the Academy of Management. He has also served as the guest editor for a special issue of Journal of Organizational Change Management on Transformational Leadership (2004, Volume 17[2]). His recent work on the topic of workplace spirituality includes one paper published in the Leadership and Organization Development Journal in 2008 and another paper published in Journal of Business Ethics in 2009.
His areas of research interests include organizational citizenship behavior, transformational leadership, and workplace spirituality.
Review :
Pawar’s book is extremely well written, abundantly useful and a seminal contribution to the literature on theory building. It is a concise book that can inform academically inclined managers on what is essential to research. And undoubtedly, this book is a reassuring bedside text for management doctoral scholars of all time.
A holistic guide to theory building...enhanced with insightful thoughts and citations of other great thinkers and researchers of international repute. This book will serve as an essential reading material for research method courses in various research degree programs such as M.Phil and Ph.D and fellow programs in management. It will be useful for the researchers in the areas of organizational behaviour, human resource management, organization theory, strategy and policy and marketing.
[The book] addresses an important gap in the training of post-graduate and advanced bachelor’s level students...the book will help students gain an understanding of a critical part of the research design process and hopefully encourage the formation and refinement of creative research ideas.
This book is meant for researchers pursuing quantitative research and interested in doing incremental science. The author has used the positivistic approach to theory building and the book is an outcome of this approach. He has distilled his extensive experience of teaching research methods course to come up with a book that can be used both as a text book by doctoral students and as a ready reckoner by practicing researcher. This book is useful for a researcher who might often come across various terms (concept, construct, variable, premise, mediation, etc.).... this book will be better knowledge of both in text citation and end of text referencing. This book brings together various aspects of theory building under a single umbrella. Guided by an able instructor, this book can serve as a text book for a research methods course.
