Open research questions in Management and Organizational Studies
186 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 7,353 Management and Organizational Studies papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.
What the literature leaves open
First, it empirically demonstrates that the tension between innovation-driven execution and systematic planning manifests concretely through three observable indicators within a project- based small business, a setting underexplored relative to studies of large or technology-based ventures (Hensellek et al.
Entrepreneurial Leadership Challenges in a Project-Based Wellness Business: A Qualitative Case Study of Yogashala’s Organizational Development · 2026 · DOIFirst, SCL di- agnosis is invalid in organizations where structural command has not been confirmed; the SCTA audit protocol of the Structural Command Theory framework provides the precondition verification.
The fluid and contested nature of the meaning-making processes remains underexplored, leaving gaps in understanding of both the internal dynamics of PSFs as they respond to recurrent disruptions, and of how these dynamics influence the outcomes of change and revisions to the organization and governance of firms.
Politics in professional service firms: discursive control and struggle through the lens of hegemony · 2026 · DOIPsychia- try operates in contexts where diagnostic boundaries remain unstable while causal mechanisms remain uncertain, although similar dynamics of uncertainty can also be observed in other areas of biomedicine (Chapman 2023).
Strategic certainties: epistemic habitus and the performance of knowledge in psychiatric practice · 2026 · DOIFindings Het Toeslagenschandaal shows how racialised groups bear the burden of proof and systemic discrimination, obscured by bureaucratic neutrality and under researched concepts like race in MOS.
The concept of TMR proposed by Robert K. Merton has been received with great enthusiasm by many social scientists—unsurprisingly, in view of the confusion, the complications, and the great dichotomy between abstract “grand theories” and small-scale empirical everyday research. The concept is also itself a way of getting rid of many of the empty debates surrounding it, including the recommendation not to take on too much, and instead to proceed cautiously. This article suggested a reorientation. The starting point is the thesis that, with the model of sociological explanation and the sociological situational logic of social processes, there are now well-developed heuristics of sociological explanation and theoretical development. They make it possible to conceive of and achieve “general explanations” for phenomena of all kinds. This is because the necessary nomological core is not localized in a comprehensive system of categories or an overarching axiom of sociological laws, but rather in the microfoundation of action theory that is inherent in the model of sociological explanation. This expands and differentiates Merton’s concept. The generic term is what one might call the “coverage” of an explanation. It has two dimensions: The “scope” is an extension of the explananda and conceivable explanantia that are of interest in terms of their intension; there are no limits to this. However, there may be limitations in the “range” of the action–theoretical nomological core of the microfoundation, namely the explanatory power of said microfoundation. With this specification and reorientation, ultimately, another concept comes into play, which is also implicitly touched on here and there by Merton (and others): that of structural models. These are, as mentioned, simplified models of typical constellations of specific, concrete conditions and contexts, as well as the transferal or generalization of these models to structurally similar constellations with different intensions of all kinds. The special features have been described in detail above. In conclusion, however, here are five further consequences of this reorientation for certain metatheoretical and philosophical debates, all concerning the program of a rigorous explanatory sociology. First, there is the rehabilitation of the HO scheme (1); next, the integration of the concept of structural models into notions of the so-called non-statement view (2); the particularities of Weber’s ideal types as general explanatory models for singular constellations (3); the termination of the search for an overarching “grand theory” and the “reduction” of sociological explanations (4); and finally, a new perspective for the controversial and currently widely neglected goal of a “unity of the social sciences” (5). 1.
By conducting focus group interviews, we were able to interview participants from a variety of industries, with varying hierarchies, team sizes, job positions, and levels of experience with digital work, which likely helped gather diverse perspectives and insights. However, the study has certain limitations. For example, the focus on participants from Germany may restrict the generalizability of the findings. Leadership perceptions and tolerance of a leadership style are likely shaped by cultural contexts and norms (Aycan et al., 2000; House et al., 2004). German work culture – characterized by relatively low power distance, high individualism, and strong institutional norms – may contribute to exploitative leadership being recognized more quickly and sanctioned more strongly than in other cultural contexts. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal1 3 Prior cross-cultural research indicates that destructive and exploitative leadership behaviors are present across cultures but differ in prevalence, acceptance, and consequences. In collectivistic cultures with higher power distance and uncertainty avoidance, hierarchical inequalities are more accepted, and destructive or exploitative leadership is less frequently questioned or sanctioned (Ekmekci & Guney, 2021; Vogel et al., 2014; Kong et al., 2025). In contrast, in more individualistic and lower power-distance cultures, such behaviors are judged as more unfair, elicit stronger negative reactions, and have more pronounced determinable effects on employee attitudes and performance (Vogel et al., 2014; Alexander et al., 2024; Taleb, 2025). To date, research on exploitative leadership across cultures remains limited and has largely focused on power distance. Future studies could therefore extend this work by systematically examining exploitative leadership across broader cultural frameworks, such as the GLOBE dimensions (House et al., 2004; e.g., power distance, performance orientation, institutional collectivism) or Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (1984, e.g., individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation). Such research would clarify how cultural context shapes both the occurrence and evaluation of exploitative leadership. Additionally, most participants were between 20 and 30 years old, representing an earlycareer sample. Consequently, the findings may not capture the experience of older or midto-late-career professionals, who may face different challenges with digital collaboration, such as lower familiarity with certain tools, and may perceive or cope with exploitative leadership differently. For example, younger participants might have a higher tolerance for exploitation, viewing it as a normal part of early-career work, whereas more experienced professionals could respond differently.
This article makes a theoretical and metatheoretical argument rather than an empirical one, and its limitations are of a corresponding character. First, the eight-dimensional constitutive criterion was derived by identifying what the field’s most enduring leadership theories share; it was not subjected to systematic validation across the full canon of leadership frameworks, and a different selection of theories might yield a different criterion or different dimensional weightings. Second, the substitutes for leadership parallel, while analytically illuminating, is imperfect: substitutes was explicitly designed to render leadership unnecessary, whereas CLT’s impersonalism was a structural consequence of its CAS architecture rather than a deliberate design choice; the parallel illuminates a family resemblance without establishing identity. Third, the constructive repositioning of CLT within organizational theory and the claim that its integration with Adaptive Leadership becomes architecturally stable under correct classification are argued rather than demonstrated; the nature and terms of that integration remain to be theorized in detail. Fourth, the argument is developed through CLT as a single case; whether the same categorical logic applies to other frameworks claiming the leadership designation, A THEORY OF ORGANIZING IN LEADERSHIP’S CLOTHING 39 including distributed leadership, shared leadership, and related complexity-adjacent frameworks, is asserted but not demonstrated here. Fifth, this article names the gap but does not fill it: identifying what is missing is not equivalent to providing it.
A Theory of Organizing in Leadership's Clothing: The Categorical Misclassification of Complexity Leadership Theory · 2026 · DOIDespite extensive scholarly examination across disciplines, the conceptualization of WA remains plagued by a lack of consensus concerning its definitions, processes, and operationalizations.
Despite a surge in SL research, however, little is known about the patterns of leadership that emerge within teams, when members perform leadership collectively.
Sharing the Leadership Space: Toward a Contextual Understanding of Shared Leadership Patterns in Organizational Teams · 2024 · DOIThis contribution enriches the scarce literature exploring the potential elective affinity between CSR and transformations in the global economy and labour markets since the late 1980s.
Background: The differences between NGO networks for two distinct types of CSR practices are underexplored: convergent CSR, which pertains to the global standards embraced by both the local and global institutions, and divergent CSR, which is framed primarily by local economic, political and social conditions.
Convergent and Divergent Corporate Social Responsibility in South Korea: Collaborative and Adversarial NGO-Corporate Networks · 2024 · DOIHowever, further theoretical development and testing are warranted to inform the practice of network governance, particularly when, how, and why to use institutions and structures of authority and collaboration to allocate resources and coordinate and control joint action of groups of organizations.
Modes of network governance revisited: Assessing their prevalence, promises, and limitations in the literature · 2023 · DOIAffected by mundane internal challenges and limited by the non-existent institutional power and the near absence of structural power for right claiming, they affiliate with TUC as the traditional structural power holders for political influence.
This paper extends the existing recommendations on construct clarity and builds a method on systems thinking and abduction to help scholars with providing clear definitions in cases of (1) the constructs and concepts that come to academia from practice (2) the constructs and concepts on which there is no agreement among scholars, and (3) the constructs that were coined in the past eras but are mapped to the transformed observables in the new era.
Framed primarily to analyze corporate occupations practiced by independent professionals, the ‘client professionalization’ model suggests better taking into account the influence of client organizations in further research on professionalization processes, in line with the research conducted on ‘client capture’ (Leicht and Fennell 2001; Dinovitzer, Gunz, and Gunz, 2014).
Towards a ‘client professionalization’ process? The case of the institutionalization of executive coaching in France · 2019 · DOIOriginality/value Few studies have investigated the implementation of MASH into safeguarding practices, with this paper providing a unique insight into practitioner opinions regarding the transition to multi-agency practices.
The growing number of studies referencing the concept of mission drift implies that such drift is an undesirable strategic outcome related to inconsistent organizational action, yet beyond such references, little is known about how mission drift occurs, how it impacts organizations, and how organizations should respond.
Findings – The paper mobilizes fieldwork access negotiation and trust building with participants as empirical material in its own right, arguing that challenges involving “being in the field” should be explored to provide new types of knowledge about the organizational phenomenon under study – in this case the rise of organizational paranoia.
In fact, this gap between speaking and doing has longed fuelled the discussion about the risks, benefits and pitfalls of CSR, mainly for one reason: It remains unknown what happens to CSR concepts when they are transformed from formal decisions at the top of the hierarchy to concrete action in the rest of the organization.
Analyses of qualitative interviews and participant observation indicate that through limited information, restricted channels of communication, and framing participation as “community,” Yelp is able to conceal the Elite Squad organizational identity from both the public as well as members of the Elite Squad.
An important HRD intervention involves developing responsible leaders able to attract support for CR throughout the organisation, but empirical research is lacking in this area.
Responsible leadership development – crucible experiences and power relationships in a global professional services firm · 2014 · DOIEven though the public administration literature has generated a substantial volume of scholarship, our understanding of both conceptually and as it relates to organizational outputs remains elusive (Van Wart, 2003).
City Managers' Leadership Credibility: Explaining the Variations of Self-Other Assessments · 2014With CSR considered as a strategic choice, this paper undertakes to model the largely under-studied processes through which managers proactively pursue the enactment of their identity – their self – and their social role in their position of power in the firm's management team.
Like Company, like Self: A Multilevel Argument Explaining Firms' Level of Engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility · 2014 · DOIResearchers have long responded using contingency theory, asking “Under what conditions should managers emphasize either A or B?” Yet increasingly studies apply a paradox perspective, shifting the question to “How can we engage both A and B simultaneously?” Despite accumulating exemplars, commonalities across paradox studies remain unclear, and ties unifying this research community weak.
Most-cited papers in Management and Organizational Studies
- A set-theoretic approach to organizational configurations · Academy of Management Review · 2007 · 1,842 citations
- A Bibliometric Analysis of 30 Years of Research and Theory on Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Performance · Business & Society · 2005 · 717 citations
- Making sense of the sensemaking perspective: Its constituents, limitations, and opportunities for further development · Journal of Organizational Behavior · 2014 · 482 citations
- Paradox as a Metatheoretical Perspective · The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science · 2014 · 471 citations
- PACING STRATEGIC CHANGE: THE CASE OF A NEW VENTURE. · Academy of Management Journal · 1994 · 455 citations
- CEO Career Variety: Effects on Firm-Level Strategic and Social Novelty · Academy of Management Journal · 2013 · 406 citations
- A Discursive Perspective on Legitimation Strategies in Multinational Corporations · Academy of Management Review · 2008 · 389 citations
- On the various and changing meanings of organizational membership: A field study of organizational identification · Communication Monographs · 1983 · 342 citations
- Metacritiques of Upper Echelons Theory: Verdicts and Recommendations for Future Research · Journal of Management · 2020 · 330 citations
- Interlevel Influences on the Reconstruction of Professional Role Identity · Academy of Management Journal · 2007 · 315 citations
Most recent work
- Theories of Middle Range · KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie · 2026
- Organizational critique and the design of a prefigurative social order: The case of an alternative organization positioning in integration work · Current Sociology · 2026
- Group Agency and Egalitarian Corporate Structure: The Epistemic, Incentive, and Control Dimensions · Journal of Applied Philosophy · 2026
- The Value of Looking into the Future: Top Managers’ Long-Term Orientation and ESG Engagement · Journal of Business Ethics · 2026
- Global governance and local bonds: CEO–chair role separation and executive relationship reconfiguration · Management Research Review · 2026
- Stewardship at Scale: A New Editorial Term at AMJ · Academy of Management Journal · 2026
- The Analyst’s Otherness and the Elusive Nature of Transitional Space · Contemporary Psychoanalysis · 2026
- Methodological Maturity in the Data Definition Phase of Marketing Analytics: A Qualitative Analysis of 40 Stakeholders · International Journal of Market Research · 2026
- Consequences of Individual‐, Organizational‐, and Societal‐Level Allyship: An Integrative Review and Recommendations for Policymakers and Practitioners · Social Issues and Policy Review · 2026
- Communication Structures That Hold Us Hostage: Conceptualizing Unlistening as an Organizational Practice · International Journal of Business Communication · 2026
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