Empowering Theories in Management Studies

THE RICHARD NORMANN LECTURE 2010 Richard Normann was one of the most profound and sophisticated management thinkers of our time who died in 2003. The Richard Normann Lectures is a collaborative initiative between Green Templeton College, Oxford and NormannPartners AB, which aims at honouring and extending the work of Richard Normann; furthering outstanding insights in strategy, business innovation and change, value coproduction and the service economy. Professor Pasquale Gagliardi Secretary-General, Giorgio Cini Foundation, Professor of Sociology of Organization, at the Faculty of Political Sciences, Catholic University, Milan EMPOWERING THEORIES IN MANAGEMENT STUDIES Professor Gagliardi will analyse the relationship between thinking and experiencing in the production of knowledge before going on to hypothesise the distinctive traits of an 'empowering theory'. It is argued in organisation and management studies that the development of expert knowledge is hampered by the poverty of interactions between theory and practice, and that academic theories do not seem to significantly affect management practice. The historical and cultural reasons for this distance and the role of problem-driven research in filling it will also be examined.