Perspective (graphical)

Corporate social responsibility

Sociology

Social science

Corporate governance

Knowledge management

Strategic management

Biology

Epistemology

Engineering

Philosophy

Political science

Paleontology

Artificial intelligence

Management

Psychology

Economics

Multidisciplinary approach

Scholarship

Context (archaeology)

Public relations

Computer science

Pluralism (philosophy)

Management science

Engineering ethics

Social psychology

Openness to experience

Journal of Management Studies

Management researchers rely frequently on theoretical perspectives originating in North American and European contexts. Given the influences context has on scholarship, the question becomes if using primarily Western theories provides researchers with the design insights needed to capture the robust context of the setting in which they conduct their studies. Herein, we seek to establish a foundation for developing fertile exchanges of ideas regarding contextualized management research. To do this, we examine some of the main theories in management studies through the heuristic lens of an ‘open systems’ framework that allows us to build on comparative management and institutional theories. We discuss existing theory advances in selected areas of management studies, including corporate governance, strategic management, entrepreneurship, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) to offer avenues for future research. Completing studies with a solid grounding in contextualized management theories has the potential to provide novel research avenues and opportunities to integrate diverse theoretical perspectives. We also identify a need for multidisciplinary research, epistemological openness, and methodological pluralism.

Contextualizing Management Research: An Open Systems Perspective