Amplifying Management Research for the Common Good

How can management research promote a more applicable and a more transparent knowledge for the benefit of individuals and organizations? Looming large over this question is the challenge of repurposing management research for improving public good. Co-edited by R. H. Tiell and S. C. Malka, the title of the book says it all - Amplifying management research for the common good: Lessons for curious individuals and organizations - Insights from practitioners in the field. In this book, we sought to bridge the chasm that separates the non-academic audience from the typically less-accessible scientific journals. We attempted to make empirical evidence more inclusive, impactful and public good relevant for the non-academic stakeholders that live and work in the broader community. For that purpose, we made available to the reader and to our chapter contributors a collection of published papers, some authored by the editors of this book, and others co-authored with other researchers. The papers cover a diverse set of business topics all of which we believe hold much relevance for management today. Providing the reader with their insights on subject matter along with lessons and practical recommendations, we sought experts in the field that can build on empirical research in various areas of management and then synthesize and broaden it through their expertise and work experience.
As a trigger, we aligned each contributor with one or two empirical papers based on their background, interests, and professional experience. Using the assigned papers as a springboard, we asked each author to identify emerging themes around which they can build their chapter. We wanted them to think of the book audience: non-academicians comprised of interested and curious individuals, managers, and their organizations. And, we wanted our authors to elaborate on practical lessons, suggestions, and recommendations that can make a difference in the lives of the book audience. Our effort resulted in a collection of chapters covering a wide range of topics from supply chain challenges in Central America, to life changing long-term effects of the pandemic, from delivery of services for mental health and suicide, to logistics capabilities pre-post Ivan in the Cayman Islands, from the new workplace, to labor market shortages, and from new workforce service pathways, and the optimization of talent, to the impact of recent recessions on the youth and the unemployed, and the assessment of C-suit level leaders. We would like to believe that the breadth of the topics covered and the amount of information being disseminated through the book chapters are meaningful, practical, and relevant to a wide audience of curious readers.