Contextualization for Theoretical Contributions: Three Approaches in Management Research
这篇社论介绍了三种在管理研究中利用中国情境推进理论贡献的方法：反直觉法、对比法和理论整合法，并以关系和社会网络研究为例说明如何通过情境化扩展现有理论。
Abstract This editorial essay introduces three approaches for advancing management research through contextualization in Chinese management research. While the Chinese context offers fertile ground for theoretical contributions, scholars often struggle to effectively leverage contextual elements to extend existing theories. I address this gap by presenting three approaches: the counter-intuitive approach, which challenges established assumptions by identifying relationships that contradict conventional wisdom; the contrasting approach, which reveals paradoxical or opposing effects of organizational phenomena across different contextual conditions; and the theory integration approach, which combines different theoretical perspectives to create richer understanding of organizational phenomena. Using published works on guanxi and social networks as examples, I demonstrate how these approaches help scholars articulate why the Chinese context matters theoretically. These approaches provide researchers with tools to move beyond simply testing Western theories in China toward making substantive theoretical contributions that extend and enrich existing management theories through contextualization.