Thinking differently about thinking theoretically: developing a design-centered approach to organizational theorizing
Author(s)
Stigliani, Ileana
Corley, Kevin
Gioia, Dennis
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We propose a novel, multi-faceted approach to organization theory building that is more likely to engender theories that are relevant to the work that managers and organizations do – one predicated on principles associated with design. Invoking and synthesizing a set of core design principles and applying them to the process of theory building generates an approach that not only provides organizational scholars a way of thinking differently about thinking theoretically, but also helps answer the call for increasing the relevance of our theories as a way of making contributions that are more practical, more prescient and greater in scope. The resulting model of “design theorizing” has several significant implications for addressing how organizational scholars approach current and future issues likely to affect the theory and practice of managing.
Date Issued
2026-04-01
Date Acceptance
2025-08-26
Citation
Journal of Management Inquiry, 2026, 35 (2), pp.116-133
ISSN
1056-4926
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Start Page
116
End Page
133
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Management Inquiry
Volume
35
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
License URL
Identifier
10.1177/10564926251377740
Subjects
design principles
organization theory
theory building
impact
relevance
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-09-29