How can International Management Theory contribute to International Management Practice‪?‬

Scholars have long noticed a considerable gap between organizational research findings and management practices. Although much has been written about the causes and consequences of this gap, little practicable suggestions have been made to narrow it. This research paper acknowledges the existence of the research-practice gap in general and in the field of International Management (IM) in particular. It views the gap in terms of a knowledge transfer and a knowledge production problem and includes causes specific to the field of International Management. The suggestions provided to narrow the research-practice gap are structured into academic initiatives and practitioner initiatives. Suggestions of academic initiatives refer to the academic publication process, researcher-practitioner interaction, contextualization and context theory. Suggestions of practitioner initiatives refer to implementation issues and the role of practitioners in the establishment of a more collaborative research paradigm.