J. Scott Armstrong WHARTON, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, USA
A
rmstrong is a member of the Wharton Marketing Faculty since 1968 and is internationally known for his pioneering work on forecasting methods. He is author of Long-
Range Forecasting, the most frequently cited book on forecasting methods, and Principles of Forecasting, voted the “Favorite Book – First 25 Years” by researchers and practitioners associated with the International Institute of Forecasters. He is a co-founder of the Journal
of Forecasting, the International Journal of Forecasting, the International Symposium on Forecasting, and forecastingprinciples.com. He is a co-developer of new methods including rule-based forecasting, causal forces for extrapolation, simulated interaction, structured analogies, and the “index method”. In addition to forecasting, Professor Armstrong has published papers on survey research, educational methods, applied statistics, social responsibility, strategic planning, and scientific peer review. In 1989, a University of Maryland study ranked Professor Armstrong among the top 15 marketing professors in the U.S. In 1996, he was selected as one of the first six Honorary Fellows by the International Institute of Forecasters. He serves or has served on Editorial positions for the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Business Research, Interfaces and the International Journal of Forecasting and other journals. He was awarded the Society for Marketing Advances Distinguished Scholar Award for 2000.
How Can Business Schools Promote Useful Knowledge?
veloping useful techniques and principles, and delivering
Abstract
ment education in practice is best described as “incom-
that knowledge so it can be used. In contrast, Woodside (2012) asks whether manage-
This review of experimental evidence concludes that
petency training.” He defined this as training that imparts
management research could be improved by following
knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behavior that are “use-
the lead of researchers in fields such as engineering and
less, inaccurate, misleading—thus leading to poorer per-
medicine. This requires experiments that test the effica-
formance.”
cy of reasonable alternative approaches under different
Do business schools by and large follow Benjamin Frank-
conditions. To encourage this, business schools should
lin’s advice or do they, as Woodside asks, provide incom-
reward useful discoveries, not the publication of papers.
petency training? This article addresses the issue by en-
Despite the small proportion of useful management re-
deavoring to answer three questions:
searchl papers, a large base of useful knowledge has
1. Is there useful knowledge in management?
been produced over the past century.
2. If useful knowledge exists, is it included in business
Useful management knowledge is generally excluded from
school programs?
university courses. The exclusion appears to be due to
3. If useful knowledge is included in business school
the conflicting implications of research-based knowledge
programs, is it provided in a way that enables stu-
versus folklore drawn from experience and anecdotes.
dents to gain competency with useful techniques
Students hold professors responsible for their learning
and principles?
and resist material that conflicts with folklore. To impart useful knowledge, business schools should hold students
This article reviews experimental evidence in an effort
accountable for their own learning by eliminating grading
to answer these questions. A negative answer to any of
by professors, student evaluations of teachers and re-
the three questions indicates that incompetency training
quired classes. They should provide experiential learning
occurs. This article also describes how business schools
materials via the Internet so that each student can con-
and other organizations can provide useful knowledge to
trol over their learning, and provide assessment centers
improve competencies. But first, how is useful knowledge
to determine and certify that students have mastered
created?
useful principles, techniques and skills.
Introduction Benjamin Franklin, the founder of the institution where the author of this article has taught for 45 years, stated that the purpose of the university is to impart “useful knowledge.” For management education, that implies de-
Creating Useful Knowledge This article is primarily concerned with knowledge that is useful for decision-making. The knowledge should be in the form of condition-action statements (principles) and techniques. The advice should be specific, instructional, and easily understandable. Conditions are important. Generalizations such as “look THINK TANK · PROGRAM & BOOK OF ABSTRACTS · 17