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Learning from Each Other: Why and How Business Schools Need to Create a “Paradox Box” for Academic–Policy Impact

Beech, Nic; Mason, Katy J.; MacIntosh, Robert; Beech, Diana

Authors

Nic Beech

Profile image of Katy Mason

Prof Katy Mason K.J.Mason2@salford.ac.uk
PVC & Dean of Salford Business School

Robert MacIntosh

Diana Beech



Abstract

As the “impact agenda” continues to gain prominence internationally, a key challenge is enabling academics and policymakers to interact so that they can learn effectively from and with each other. There is an ethical position that, if we could contribute to policy change impacting on work, society, and environment, then some of our resource and effort should be focused in this way, to bring the benefits of our research to the world of policy and practice and to gain insights about the use and potential direction of our research. We argue that there are significant cultural incompatibilities between academia and policymaking, but we propose an approach that establishes a learning zone in which key cultural rules are suspended (not “solved”) and groups can contribute input and extract learning insights as if they were collaborating with shared understanding, when this may only partially be the case. We explore the theoretical grounds and design principles for this new kind of learning zone, which we term the “paradox box.”

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 1, 2021
Publication Date Sep 21, 2022
Deposit Date Nov 11, 2024
Journal Academy of Management Learning & Education
Print ISSN 1537-260X
Electronic ISSN 1944-9585
Publisher Academy of Management
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 21
Issue 3
Pages 487-502
DOI https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2021.0303