Binarisms and its discontents

Abstract

The theme of the next Academy of Management conference, to be held in 2020 in Vancouver, Canada, is "Broadening Our Sight" (Aguinis, 2019), which sounds quite fitting in today's times. Instead of regretting why business administration research does not always enjoy the same prestige as other areas [a subject well studied by Khurana (2007)], the call for papers for this conference expects researchers to abandon the zero-sum thinking present in the dichotomies that surround business administration research (e.g., dilemmas such as qualitative or quantitative research? Research on the micro, meso, or macro level?). The conference seeks contributions that go beyond this binary model, which is not quite useful for building synergies in the search for solutions. However, the issue is not just internal organizational problems. External problems such as political strategies, supply chain, and people management or forms of leadership—among many other topics addressed in business administration research—are definitely associated with management. Polarized positions do not contribute to creative solution of problems (but diversity and pluralism do), and the complexity of the contemporary scenario requires solutions that combine diverse areas of knowledge. The domain of business administration needs to reconcile the internal difficulties faced by companies with the political and social issues that surround them.