AcademicPractitioner Engagement: Knowledge Transfer

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Academic/Practitioner Engagement Knowledge
Transfer Knowledge Exchange
Dr Tim Hughes Bristol Business School
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The problem

• Business schools becoming less and less relevant
  to practitioners (Bennis OToole, 2005)
• Management has developed as a science rather
  than rooted in action (Pfeffer Fong, 2002)
• Knowledge gap relating to understanding the
  process of development and exchange of knowledge
  (Starkey Madan, 2001 Rynes, 2007)
• We know of no recent systematic effort to
  understand beliefs regarding the extent and
  nature of the management research-management
  practice gap and how to narrow it.
• (Shapiro et al. 2007249)

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The research

• Separate research projects in Marketing,
  Accountancy Finance, Strategic Management,
  Organisation Studies fields
• With D. Bence, L. Grisoni, R. Hughes, N. ORegan,
  A. Tapp, D.Wornham
• Qualitative approach using face-to-face and
  telephone interviews
• 62 interviewees from three groups academics (20
  interviews), practitioners (24 interviews) and
  consultants/experts (18 interviews)
• Interviews taped, transcribed and analysed

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Overall Research Questions

• In what ways do academics and practitioners
  engage with each other?
• 2. How effective are the different routes for
  engagement in enabling knowledge transfer and
  knowledge exchange between academics and
  practitioners?

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Routes to knowledge transfer exchange
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The nature of the problem

• Knowledge transfer- communication of academic
  knowledge
• Knowledge exchange- creation of knowledge
  through two-way communication

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Effectiveness of routes
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Effectiveness of routes
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Effectiveness of routes
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Pre-conditions conditions for effective
engagement
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Pre-conditions individual factors

• Academics
• Values, beliefs motivation
• Ability credibility
• Practitioners
• Attitudes motivation
• Time pressures

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Pre-conditions institutional factors

• Universities
• Recruitment, promotion support
• HEFCE
• Narrow measures of academic endeavour (RAE)
• Funders
• Setting agendas, specifying outputs
• Practitioners as funders?

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Conditions content factors

• Appropriate and applicable to the needs of both
  parties
• What is the level of interest outside the
  academic community?
• Involvement in setting research agendas
• Knowledge networks
• Agendas agreed
• Access to research subjects
• Outlet for dissemination discussion

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Conditions process factors

• Need for translation, synthesis, interpretation
  and delivery
• Requires knowledge broking role
• Understand the knowledge needs of the community
• Requires practitioner motivation
• Understanding of what is available from business
  schools
• Understanding of how to access

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How to create the conditions for effective
engagement?

• Routes could be used as a template for
  engagement strategy
• For institutions
• For individuals
• Training support for academics in engaging with
  practice
• Motivation for engagement needs to be addressed
• At institutional level

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How to create the conditions for effective
engagement?

• How to identify those practitioners who are
  potentially responsive?
• How to position universities in the practitioner
  community?
• Locally
• Nationally
• Websitehttp//www.uwe.ac.uk/bbs/research/hughes/