Revisiting Action Research: Leveraging Paradox for Responsible Theoretical and Practical Impacts
A. Greco (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
Marco Berti (The Nova School of Business and Economics)
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Abstract
As calls for research with practical impact intensify, Action Research (AR) promises to combine scholarly inquiry and organizational change. Yet it faces two key criticisms: limited theoretical generalizability and overly optimistic assumptions about its effects. Drawing on a multi-year AR project, we argue that AR’s deep engagement with organizational life surfaces paradoxes—persistent, interrelated tensions central to organizing. These paradoxes offer a double-edged potential: they can yield rich, theory-extending insights or, if mismanaged, produce harmful consequences. We propose a paradox-aware approach to AR, positioning paradox management as a critical methodological practice for generating responsible impact and advancing theoretically meaningful contributions.