How to undertake great cross-disciplinary research

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Authors

Lindgreen, Adam
Di Benedetto, C. Anthony
Brodie, Roderick J.
Van der Borgh, Michel

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier

Abstract

As an applied social science, business-to-business research is inherently cross-disciplinary. The general theories that provide insight into business relationships, systems, and markets have disciplinary foundations in the economics, psychology, sociology, and management disciplines. When conducting cross-disciplinary research, academic researchers, like their counterparts in industry, must overcome functional silos. Depending on the type of research challenge, a multi-disciplinary approach may be required; however, differences in incentives, culture, terminology and jargon, and so forth all can lead to opportunistic and counterproductive behavior. The purpose of this editorial is to explore how to undertake cross-disciplinary research that advances knowledge and understanding in the domain of business-to-business research. To achieve this purpose, we elaborate on the theorizing processes; we examine how to break cross-disciplinary boundaries; and we provide practical guidelines for undertaking cross-disciplinary research.

Description

Keywords

Cross-disciplinary research, Interdisciplinary research, Functional silos

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Lindgreen, A., Di Benedetto, C.A., Brodie, R. et al. 2020, 'How to undertake great cross-disciplinary research', Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 90, pp. A1-A5.