Abstract
Theory building is a central goal in most research disciplines, and it is difficult to overstate the importance of theory in a research endeavor. This paper builds on a study of theory building in several disciplines so as to: (1) synthesize it into a framework, and (2) support the development and evaluation of theory in project management research. Four types of theory, prescriptive, descriptive, predictive, and practice, are presented. Four ’classic’ papers are used as a retrospective illustration of applying the framework. The paper concludes with a broader discussion regarding the ongoing debate about building better theory in the project management discipline.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | International Journal of Project Management |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages (from-to) | 849-872 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| ISSN | 0263-7863 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2021 |
Keywords
- Descriptive theory
- Philosophies
- Practice theory
- Predictive theory
- Prescriptive theory
- Project management discipline
- Structure of theory
- Theorizing
- Theory building
- Theory types