Gap-Spotting in 2023
Does gap-spotting lead to interesting theories? From the above analysis we can conclude that gap-spotting is by far the most common way of constructing research questions within organization studies (as stated within research texts). A central question is to what extent gap-spotting is likely to facilitate a development of interesting and influential theories. The answer depends largely on what we mean by an ‘interesting’ theory. The hallmark of a ‘good’ theory has been that it is truthful to its subject matter and derived from rigorous research. But as Astley, Bartunek et al. Campbell et al, Davis, McKinley et al. Miner and Weick have pointed out, truth and rigorously executed research are typically not enough for a theory to be regarded as interesting and significant. According to Davis’s comprehensive study, what makes a theory interesting, and sometimes even famous, is that it challenges its audience’s assumptions about the subject matter in some significant way. As Davis expressed it, ‘the social researcher who wants to be certain that he (sic) will produce an interesting theory about his subject must first familiarize himself with what his audience already assumes to be true about his subject, before he can even begin to generate a proposition which, in denying their assumption, will attract their attention’ (1971: 337, emphasis in original).
