BINARISMS AND ITS DISCONTENTS

The theme of the next Academy of Management conference, to be held in 2020 in Vancouver, Canada, is “Broadening Our Sight” (Aguinis, 2019), which sounds quite fitting in today’s times. Instead of regretting why business administration research does not always enjoy the same prestige as other areas [a subject well studied by Khurana (2007)], the call for papers for this conference expects researchers to abandon the zero-sum thinking present in the dichotomies that surround business administration research (e.g., dilemmas such as qualitative or quantitative research? Research on the micro, meso, or macro level?). The conference seeks contributions that go beyond this binary model, which is not quite useful for building synergies in the search for solutions. However, the issue is not just internal organizational problems. External problems such as political strategies, supply chain, and people management or forms of leadership-among many other topics addressed in business administration research-are definitely associated with management. Polarized positions do not contribute to creative solution of problems (but diversity and pluralism do), and the complexity of the contemporary scenario requires solutions that combine diverse areas of knowledge. The domain of business administration needs to reconcile the internal difficulties faced by companies with the political and social issues that surround them.

It seems we are always harping on the same string in our editorials. We have already addressed the need for a responsible science (Tonelli & Zambaldi, 2018a) that overcomes dichotomies (Tonelli & Zambaldi, 2016, 2018b) and is useful for a sustainable world. However, the latest editions of the Academy of Management dwell more or less upon a single subject: in 2019, the theme of the conference was “Understanding Inclusive Organizations”; in 2018, it was “Improving Lives”; and in 2017, it was “At the Interface,” indicating the Association’s penchant in recent years. The concern to produce knowledge for a better world has never been more pressing, either in the Global North or the Global South.

The articles in this issue contribute to this debate. “Humor as catalyst and neutralizer of leadership effectiveness” by Filipe Sobral, Liliane Furtado, and Gazi Islam deals with the impact of humor while leading interns. Yet, it can be perfectly extended to other professionals in organizations. The article “Happiness at work: Measurement scale validation” by Carolina Ramirez-Garcia, Juan García-Alvarez de Perea, and Julio García-Del Junco deals with the importance of measuring happiness at work for improving the efficiency of workers. In these times, when the future of work is being questioned, the theme of happiness is more than appropriate: is it really possible to be happy at work, today or in the future? What job is it? Highlighting the detachment of academic production from the immediate needs of society, an article by Anielson Barbosa da Silva discusses the “Multilevel academic productivism: Performative merchandise in Brazil’s graduate schools of management” The article “Sustainable human resources management and social and environmental responsibility: An agenda for debate” by Andre Ofenhejm Mascarenhas and Allan Claudius Queiroz Barbosa deals with current and relevant issues, emphasizing the importance of the field of human resources adopting an agenda focused on socio-environmental responsibility.

Bringing this issue to an end is the essay “ Marketing teaching and research: The red pill alternative” by Leticia Moreira Casotti, which shows the dichotomy that surrounds this area. In the Book Recommendations section, Professor Claudia Affonso Silva Araujo suggests five books on health services management.

Enjoy reading!

• Translated version

REFERÊNCIAS

• Aguinis, H. (2019). AOM 2020 Theme - 20/20: Broadening our sight. In: 80th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Vancouver, BC. Recuperado de http://aom.org/annualmeeting/theme
  » http://aom.org/annualmeeting/theme
• Khurana, R. (2007). From higher aims to hired hands: The social transformation of American business schools and the unfulfilled promise of management as a profession. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Tonelli, M. J., & Zambaldi, F. (2016). Academia e prática. RAE-Revista de Administração de Empresas, 56(4), 374. doi:10.1590/S0034-759020160401
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-759020160401
• Tonelli, M. J., & Zambaldi, F. (2018a). Ciência responsável e impacto social da pesquisa em Administração. RAE-Revista de Administração de Empresas, 58(3), 215-216. doi:10.1590/s0034-759020180301
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/s0034-759020180301
• Tonelli, M. J., & Zambaldi, F. (2018b). Pesquisas qualitativas, pesquisas quantitativas e além. RAE-Revista de Administração de Empresas, 58(5), 449-450. doi:10.1590/S0034-759020180501
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-759020180501

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  04 Nov 2019
• Date of issue
  Sep-Oct 2019