Do we care about the Societal Impact of our research?

Not Even Trying to Change the World: Why Do Elite Management Journals Ignore the Major Problems Facing Humanity?

“…and have the best chance of being published in high-ranking journals (McKiernan & Tsui, 2019; Prasad, 2014). This significantly narrows the range of subjects considered to be career worthy and partially transforms scholarship into a self-referential activity, oriented toward a compatible literature base rather than topics that may lie outside this sphere (Corbett et al, 2014; Davison & Bjørn-Andersen, 2019). In this respect, it is easy to see how “big questions” fall to the wayside (even if students are otherwise interested in them) as budding academics evaluate the most viable postdoctoral career pathways available to them.…”

Are we on the right track? an update to Lyytinen et al.’s commentary on why the old world cannot publish

“…As mentors, colleagues, and reviewers, we could embark on a more reflective, culturally sensitive approach in providing feedback to young scholars. Instead of seeking and acclaiming only "universal knowledge" and "theoretical contributions", we could start recognising (and embracing) diversity in research themes, types of inquiry, methods, tools, and forms of scholarship (Avison et al, 2018) and start valuing (and accepting) both theoretical and applied contributions that address pressing and current issues (Davison & Bjørn-Andersen, 2019). There are many new opportunities, such as citizen science (Levy & Germonprez, 2017;Lukyanenko et al, 2019) and other forms of engaged research, that are found rather rarely in IS research.…”

“…By meaningful and value-adding research we do not simply mean expanding our presence on social media or popular discussion sites, but dealing with genuine problems for society. However, disseminating the fruits of our research in diverse forms to collectively advance basic knowledge and practice could be one piece of the puzzle (Davison & Bjørn-Andersen, 2019).…”

Counting publications and citations is not just irrelevant: it is an incentive that subverts the impact of clinical research

“…11 Although many initiatives have been developed to evaluate the societal impact of health research, 12 13 there is still a gap around standardised measures that have been agreed upon and adopted by the research community at large. 13 Good Life with osteoArthritis in Denmark (GLA:D) is a populationbased programme that implemented clinical guidelines to treat hip and knee osteoarthritis through patient education and physiotherapist-supervised exercise. 14 Twelve months after starting the programme, patients reported doing more physical activity and taking fewer pain medications than before entering the programme.…”