Can the research-practice gap ever really be bridged? Applying the

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Can the research-practice gap ever really be
bridged? Applying the applied in evidence-based
organisational practice.

• Helen N. Watts

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Overview

• Applied Occupational Psychology research
• My research
• Challenges for researchers
• Evidence-based organisational practice
• Blending facts and knowledge
• Applying the applied?
• Barriers
• Bridging your gap?

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Applied Occupational Psychology research

• Applied research is concerned with researching
  issues arising from a work-based setting (Warr,
  2000)
• Challenges for applied researchers addressing
  different needs, balancing relevance and rigour
• However, further challenges in actually applying
  the applied research to inform evidence-based
  practice within organisations

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My research

• The factors affecting the processes of membership
  cancellation, switching and word-of mouth
• Current application of relationship marketing
  across health and fitness clubs in the UK.
• Semi-structured interviews, CIT, quantitative
  questionnaires (cross-sectional and longitudinal
  studies)

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Challenges for researchers

• Balancing needs

Organisation
Researcher
Sponsor
HEI/ Research unit
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Challenges for researchers

• Balancing relevance and rigour, aiming to overlap

Pragmatic
Popularist
Pedantic
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Evidence-based organisational practice

• Depends on evidence-based management
• Evidence-based management derives principles
  from research evidence and translates them into
  practices that solve organisational problems.
  (Rousseau, 2006)
• Applied research should create real evidence
  (general specific recommendations)

Evidence-base
Need for translation (contextual fact-finding)
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Blending facts and knowledge

• Managers who practice the research evidence,
  blending fact-finding with social science
  knowledge, for interpretation/ decision-making
• This is real bridging of the gap

RESEARCH
PRACTICE
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Applying the applied?

• The great applied misnomer-
• Wide variation in organisational practices
  (appraisal, restructuring)
• Evidence vs. fads!
• Adopted overenthusiatically, implemented
  inadequately, then discarded prematurely in
  favour of the latest trend (Walshe Russell,
  2001)

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Barriers to applying the applied

• Current culture (social networks etc.)
• Applying change (individual propensity)
• Threat
• Uniqueness paradox
• Unfamiliarity (less than 1, Rynes, Brown
  Colbert, 2002)
• Diversity across an organisations managers
  credentials
• Time/cost constraints
• Educators! (cutting edge or old wives tales?)

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Applying the applied Bridging your gap

• BARRIERS
• Current culture
• Propensity for change
• Manager diversity
• Uniqueness paradox
• Threat
• Time/cost constraints
• Education

AWARENESS Additional research?
CONSIDERATION Show use of local facts/ blend of
perspectives
PROMOTION Business cases to show
ROIs
INTEGRITY On-going research
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• Thank you