SMS Workshops will be hosted on the virtual conference platform. Workshops are included in the cost of registration for the SMS 4th1 Annual Conference. 

It is common for researchers in strategy to iterate between theory and data to arrive at hypotheses, as researchers refine ideas, understanding of samples, and measurement. However, these results are often presented as tests of theories even though the iterative research distorts p-values and standard errors. This PDW explores why this is a problem and then explores solutions. We then consider how to restructure and publish papers in a way that more accurately maps to implemented research processes and removes pressure to make hypotheses “work”. Journal editors Rajshree Agrawal (Strategic Management Journal), Gary Dushnitsky (Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal), Alfonso Gambardella (Management Science), and Dan Levinthal (Strategy Science) will discuss editorial policies towards explicitly abductive work. The PDW will conclude with two “transition showcases” where authors report on rewriting their papers for a post-hypothesis world. Workshop Structure:

Part 1: The problem: Why hypothetical-deduction is hard (Brent Goldfarb, University of Maryland), Solution 1: Replication and Experiments (Giada DiStefano, Bocconi University), Solution 2: Epistemic Mapping (Andrew King, Boston University), Solution 3: Abduction & Inference to the Best Explanation (Sandeep Pillai, Bocconi University), Implementation: Writing Veridically (Brent Goldfarb).

Part 2: Editors’ Panel.

Part 3: Restructured Paper Showcase: Two authors (Hyunjin Kim, INSEAD & Thomaz Teodorovicz, HBS) will discuss their journey reorganizing a paper from the traditional Hypothesis-Theory testing structure to a structure that more closely maps their true research process. Each segment will include Q&A. A reading list can be found here: https://ter.ps/veridical.

Interested participants can add the workshop to your schedule on the conference platform or simply join the workshop!  

Participants must be registered to attend the SMS 41st Annual Conference to attend the workshop.