Abstract
We demonstrate the importance of action research and its variants in project studies and project management through 10 papers selected for this special issue. The response to the call for papers was overwhelming and we thank all the researchers who worked for this special issue.
Action research aims to solve practical problems while expanding scientific knowledge. The action researcher works collaboratively with practitioners to bring about change. Thus, informants in traditional research become co-researchers in action research. The action research process can be conceptualized as a number of learning cycles (Van Der Hoorn, 2016) consisting of predefined stages, each starting with a diagnosis, which involves the joint (practitioner and researcher) identification of problems and their possible underlying causes. Action planning specifies the anticipated actions that may improve or solve the problems identified, and action taking refers to the implementation of those specified actions. Evaluation is the assessment of the intervention, and learning is the reflection on activities and outcomes (Myers, 2009; Susman and Evered, 1978; Coghlan and Shani, 2018). Action research is also an umbrella term for a number of diverse research methods, and there are many variants (Eikeland, 2012) as evident from this special issue.
The origin of this special issue can be traced back to 2017, when the editors proposed organizing a special track titled: Making a Difference: Action Research and Engaged Scholarship in Projects and Innovations to the Board of Project Organizing Strategic Interest Group of the European Academy of Management (EURAM) Conference. The proposal was accepted and the special track was part of the EURAM 2018 conference in Reykjavík, Iceland, 20–23 June. We repeated the track at EURAM 2019 in Lisbon, Portugal, 26–28 June. The popularity of the track at the two EURAM conferences highlighted the need for a forum to discuss action research and its many variants to enhance project management research.
Action research and its variants have not been in the mainstream within the project research community. Therefore, we have tried to bring action research to the fore through the special tracks at EURAM 2018 and 2019 as well as through this special issue over the past four years. It is surprising that a discipline such as project management has not naturally embraced action research despite its strong relevance for solving complex organizational problems (Avison et al., 2018), ability to reconcile theoretical development and engagement with practice (Geraldi and Söderlund, 2018) and researching the actuality of practice (Cicmil et al., 2006).
Action research aims to solve practical problems while expanding scientific knowledge. The action researcher works collaboratively with practitioners to bring about change. Thus, informants in traditional research become co-researchers in action research. The action research process can be conceptualized as a number of learning cycles (Van Der Hoorn, 2016) consisting of predefined stages, each starting with a diagnosis, which involves the joint (practitioner and researcher) identification of problems and their possible underlying causes. Action planning specifies the anticipated actions that may improve or solve the problems identified, and action taking refers to the implementation of those specified actions. Evaluation is the assessment of the intervention, and learning is the reflection on activities and outcomes (Myers, 2009; Susman and Evered, 1978; Coghlan and Shani, 2018). Action research is also an umbrella term for a number of diverse research methods, and there are many variants (Eikeland, 2012) as evident from this special issue.
The origin of this special issue can be traced back to 2017, when the editors proposed organizing a special track titled: Making a Difference: Action Research and Engaged Scholarship in Projects and Innovations to the Board of Project Organizing Strategic Interest Group of the European Academy of Management (EURAM) Conference. The proposal was accepted and the special track was part of the EURAM 2018 conference in Reykjavík, Iceland, 20–23 June. We repeated the track at EURAM 2019 in Lisbon, Portugal, 26–28 June. The popularity of the track at the two EURAM conferences highlighted the need for a forum to discuss action research and its many variants to enhance project management research.
Action research and its variants have not been in the mainstream within the project research community. Therefore, we have tried to bring action research to the fore through the special tracks at EURAM 2018 and 2019 as well as through this special issue over the past four years. It is surprising that a discipline such as project management has not naturally embraced action research despite its strong relevance for solving complex organizational problems (Avison et al., 2018), ability to reconcile theoretical development and engagement with practice (Geraldi and Söderlund, 2018) and researching the actuality of practice (Cicmil et al., 2006).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | International Journal of Managing Projects in Business |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-12 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| ISSN | 1753-8378 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2021 |