Theory and theory development: Guidelines for establishing theoretical gaps, foundations, contributions, and implications
为学者提供了一套清晰、连贯且建设性的指南，采用作者的专业知识、经验和接触的3E方法，逐步解决理论发展中的空白、基础、贡献和含义问题，适合新兴和资深学者使用。
Theory guides the acquisition and advancement of knowledge. Despite its importance, developing and refining theories remains a formidable task, given the inadequate clarity, inherent confusion, and compounding complexity faced by scholars in theory development. In response, this article offers clear, coherent, and constructive guidelines to tackle these challenges in theory development. Adopting the 3 E s involving the author’s expertise , experience , and exposure , this guide offers a sequential approach to addressing theoretical gaps , theoretical foundations , theoretical contributions , and theoretical implications . This all-inclusive, accessible, and actionable resource seeks to benefit a diverse range of stakeholders, including both emerging and established scholars, which, in turn, contributes to ensuring the effective development of theories and, by extension, the return on value of these theories for funders, institutions, and, most importantly, the target beneficiaries (e.g., consumers, firms, society at large) of well-developed, theory-informed research.