Prioritizing Research in Strategic Management: Insights from Practitioners and Academics

This essay presents results from a survey that assesses perceptions of academics and practitioners regarding the importance of, and their satisfaction with, research on contemporary topics in strategic management. Our objective is to provide guidance regarding important areas where respondents believe that further research would be fruitful. The responses to survey questions regarding 55 prominent research topics indicate the extent to which existing research programs have under- or over-served the demands of the academic and consultant-practitioner markets. A comparison of responses provided by academics and consultant-practitioners suggest opportunities for current academics to learn from practice. Overall, this paper provides a means to better understand the distinctive contribution of strategic management research and suggests several ways in which future research might focus its effort on questions of interest to practice.