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RRBM Webinar: Generating Theory by Abduction

  • 1.  RRBM Webinar: Generating Theory by Abduction

    Posted 04-29-2021 13:47

    RRBM Webinar: Generating Theory by Abduction

    Speakers: Professor Alf Steinar Saetre and Professor Andrew Van de Ven


    The need for understanding how new ideas and hunches are created that may subsequently lead to new theories or models has never been greater for academics and practitioners. Abduction provides a mode of reasoning for achieving this. It is a form of generative reasoning that begins with observing and confirming an anomaly, generating and evaluating hunches that may explain the anomaly, for subsequent deductive constructing and inductive testing. Although abductive reasoning is being recognized in the management literature, it requires more systematic development to be useful for theory creation. We argue that abduction can inform management scholars in creating theories in three important ways: First, we propose four key steps in abductive reasoning of observing and confirming anomalies and generating and evaluating hunches. Second, we go beyond individual reasoning to examine collective social-psychological processes of generating new theories. Third, we propose specific ways for disciplined imagination in abductive reasoning.

    Time: Wednesday, 5th of May at 8am (US Central Time) / 2pm (London) / 6.30pm (Delhi). This webinar is scheduled for 90 minutes (including Q&A).

    Registration: Please register here to receive a personalized Zoom link and a reminder for this event.


    Recommended reading: Alf Steinar Sætre & Andrew Van de Ven. Generating Theory by Abduction. Academy of Management Review,https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2019.0233


    Panel speakers:
    • Alf Steinar Saetre, Professor of Innovation and Strategy, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
    • Andrew Van de Ven, Professor Emeritus, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota

    This webinar is supported by Responsible Research in Business and Management (www.rrbm.network).

    If you have any questions, please contact Ibrat Djabbarov i.djabbarov@cranfield.ac.uk.

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    Ibrat Djabbarov
    Cranfield School of Management
    BEDFORD
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