Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification in Organizational Studies

by Badrinarayan Shankar Pawar

• ISBN13: 9788132102441
• ISBN10: 8132102444
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-11-20
• Publisher: SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd

Summary

This book focuses on developing a cogent theory that leads to the specification of a hypothesis that can be taken up for subsequent empirical examination. It is a concise and holistic guide to theory building for such hypothesis specification. This volume breaks down the process of theory building into its component steps and explains each of them, starting with formative concepts of theory, units of theory, principles and processes of theory, to explaining theory building for hypothesis specification in organizational studies. The uniqueness of the book lies in its focus on theory building for the specific purpose of hypothesis creation rather than for propounding any grand idea or concept. It is enhanced with insightful texts and citations of thinkers and researchers of international repute.

Author Biography

Badrinarayan Shankar Pawar teaches Organizational Behavior and Research Methods at IIM Kozhikode. He has more than a decade's teaching experience. He has taught at various institutes including Oklahoma State University, City University of Hong Kong, Indian institute of Management Ahmedabad and XLRI Jamshedpur. He received PhD from Oklahoma State University and received the honor of Phi Kappa Phi membership in recognition of his performance in the PhD studies. He has done research in various areas including organizational citizenship behavior, transformational leadership and workplace spirituality.

Table of Contents

About the Author	p. vii
List of Figures	p. xiii
Preface	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xix
An Introduction to Theory Building and This Book	p. 1
A Brief Introduction to Theory	p. 1
Why are Theory and Theory Building Required	p. 5
Need for Theory-building Inputs: The Relevance of This Book	p. 7
Focus and Approach of This Book	p. 9
Focus on Organizational Studies Area	p. 9
Focus on Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification	p. 10
Focus on Logical Positivism	p. 11
Source of Book Contents	p. 12
Summary	p. 12
Theory in the Broader Context of Reality, Knowledge, Science, and Research	p. 14
Theory in the Context of Reality and Knowledge	p. 14
Actual Reality	p. 15
Knowledge	p. 16
Presumed Reality	p. 17
Theory in the Context of Science and Research	p. 20
Science and Theory	p. 20
Research and Theory	p. 22
Paradigms, Actual Reality, and Theory	p. 23
Summary	p. 24
Theory: What It Is and Its Role in Research	p. 25
What Is a Theory?	p. 25
A Representation of Reality	p. 25
A Set of Generalized Statements	p. 26
A Set of Interrelated Statements	p. 26
An Abstract Representation of Reality	p. 27
A Few Definitions and Descriptions of a Theory	p. 28
Role of Theory	p. 30
Role of Theory in Simplifying and Ordering the Representation of Empirical World	p. 30
Role of Theory in Facilitating Explanation and Prediction Goals of Science	p. 30
Role of Theory in Bridging Conceptual and Empirical Research	p. 32
Role of Theory in Facilitating Economy in Empirical Verification	p. 33
Role of Theory in Pointing to the Areas for Advancement of Science	p. 34
Summary	p. 34
Units of Theory	p. 36
Unit One of a Theory: Domain	p. 36
Unit Two of a Theory: Concepts	p. 40
First Category of Terms	p. 42
Second Category of Terms	p. 42
Third Category of Terms	p. 43
Fourth Category of Terms	p. 43
Definitions and Descriptions of a Concept	p. 44
Concepts and Constructs	p. 45
Role of Concepts in Theory Building	p. 46
Abstractness of a Concept and Its Implications	p. 50
Unit Three of a Theory: Variables	p. 51
Unit Four of a Theory: Definitional Statements	p. 53
Unit Five of a Theory: Premises	p. 54
Unit Six of a Theory: Propositions	p. 56
Unit Seven of a Theory: Hypotheses	p. 57
Summary	p. 61
Some Aspects of the Process of Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification	p. 64
Deciding on the Aspects of the Reality to be Represented and the Domain	p. 64
Concept Specification and Specification of Definitional Statements	p. 66
Other Approaches to Concept Specification	p. 70
Typology as an Approach to Concept Specification	p. 70
Ideal Types and Related Approaches to Concept Specification	p. 73
Configurations as an Approach to Concept Specification	p. 74
Specification of Premises in a Theory	p. 75
Specification of Propositions and Hypotheses	p. 78
Place of Logic and Reasoning in Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification	p. 79
Logical Arguments	p. 80
Additional Hypothetical Examples of Logical Reasoning for Hypothesis Specification	p. 90
Summary	p. 96
Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification: Observations and Examples from Published Research	p. 97
A Few Observations about and Examples from Published Research	p. 98
Simple Argument: Premises Mostly Based on Definitions and Assumptions	p. 99
Simple Argument: Based on an Existing Model	p. 100
Simple Argument: Based on Definitions, an Existing Model, and a General Law	p. 101
Simple Argument: Based on the Existing Conceptual Literature and Empirical Findings	p. 101
Complex Argument: Based on the Existing Conceptual Literature and Empirical Findings	p. 103
Complex Argument: Based on Multiple Models	p. 104
Complex Argument: Based on a Model and General Laws	p. 104
Some Comments on the Observations	p. 105
Summary	p. 106
Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification: Some Extensions	p. 109
Theory Building for Specifying More Complex Hypotheses: Mediation and Moderation	p. 109
Theory Building for Specifying a Hypothesis Involving Mediation	p. 109
Theory Building for Specifying a Hypothesis Involving Moderation	p. 113
Extending Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification to Theory Building for Developing More Comprehensive Models	p. 116
Extending Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification to Theory Building for Specifying Simple Theories	p. 116
Some Other Inputs on and Approaches to Theory Building	p. 118
Assessment of Goodness of Theory Building and Theories	p. 120
Placing Theory Building for Hypothesis Specification in the Larger Process	p. 121
Summary	p. 122
References	p. 123
Author lndex	p. 127
Subject Index	p. 129
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