Relevance, Realism and Rigour: A Third Way for Social and Economic Research. Report No

The model based approaches to economics and the verbal and philosophical approaches to sociology normally coexist without much traffic between them. The concerns of the two research communities are, by and large, simply different. When it comes to management research, however, there is a substantial overlap in the subjects of interest and, as a result, the respective approaches of the economist and the sociologist are frequently in conflict. Economic modellers and sociologically oriented, qualitative students of management both claim that their research is relevant. The stereotype economist claims rigour and asserts its importance while the stereotype sociologist claims realism and denies that realism can accommodate rigour. The purpose of this lecture is to address that conflict, to assess the validity of the arguments of each side and to draw some conclusions and recommendations for the future of social research. Much of the discussion will focus on management research in particular because of its close relationship to practice and its problem and policy oriented concerns. The third way indicated in the title is not just the ageing buzz word. It is a