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The Case for Inductive Theory Building

R. H. Smith School of Management, University of Maryland, elocke{at}rhsmith.umd.edu

This article argues that theory building in the social sciences, management and psychology included, should be inductive. It begins by critiquing contemporary philosophy of science, for example, Popper's falsifiability theory, his stress on deduction, and the hypothetico—deductive method. Next, the author presents some history on the concept of induction in philosophy and of inductive theory building in the hard sciences (e.g., Aristotle, Bacon, Newton). This is followed by three examples of successful theory building by induction in psychology and management (Beck's theory, Bandura's social—cognitive theory, goal setting theory). The article concludes with some suggested guidelines for successful theory building through induction and some new policies that journal editors might encourage.

Key Words: induction • hypothetico—deductive method • theory building • falsifiablity

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Journal of Management, Vol. 33, No. 6, 867-890 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0149206307307636


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (5) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Locke, E. A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?