Renewing Research Practice

In Renewing Research Practice prominent scholars in organization studies share their experiences in overcoming research obstacles, working with collaborators, and balancing professional and personal life demands. This book, driven by the scholars' stories of triumph and frustration, will help others in similar situations find their way to successful research renewal. The book is organized around a series of chapters and commentaries that invites the reader to interact with the ideas presented. Interspersed between the chapters, the volume editors discuss broader issues important to the development of a successful research practice—the nature of the scholarly community, ethics, the changing terrain of organization studies, the intoxication of the research journey, rethinking the notion of discipline, and a reflection on the American-centrism of management research. Of special interest to scholars and researchers in organization studies, this book will assist all social scientists, at whatever stage of the research journey they are in.

"Stablein and Frost's Renewing Research Practice is one of those books that any scholar in the organizations and management field simply must read! It is a book of breathtaking honesty rather than reconstructed logic, lifting the veil on what the practice of research as intellectual craft really involves. We learn that even the very best researchers sometimes have metaphorical feet of clay and literal moments of dread when they stall or are unable to find their way-but are able to lift themselves up, dust themselves down, and start over again-an ability that makes them what they have become." -Stewart Clegg, University of Technology, Sydney, School of Management "Stablein and Frost investigate challenges that researchers confront in pursuing and sustaining their careers. Springboarding from autobiographical essays by 8 researchers, 14 others extract practical heuristics for maintaining one's enthusiasm, and the editors reflect on the social and ideological contexts that influence one's research work. The result is a rich experiential stew that can nourish working lives." -Bill Starbuck, Stern School of Business, New York University "Renewing Research Practice is a thoughtful, engaging and inspiring book that will resonate with researchers at any career stage. The researchers' stories extend the more usual research conversations to consider questions such as, How do we nourish passion for our work over time? How might we cultivate a community of researchers that values our worlds of work as well as our lives apart from work? The result is a book that vividly portrays as well as encourages diverse journeys of research renewal in scholarly communities." -Karen Golden-Biddle,University of Alberta School of Business

Ralph E. Stablein is Professor of Management at Massey University. Peter J. Frost is the Kaiser Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia. They previously coedited a volume on the research process, Doing Exemplary Research.