Is there really such a thing as evidence-based management?

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Denise Rousseau, a prof at Carnegie Mellon, asks "Is there such a thing as evidence-based management?" Good question. Rousseau covers a lot of ground in her article (pdf), which is based on a presidential address she presented to the Academy of Management in 2005. She looks for ways to close the prevailing "research-practice gap" — the failure of people to base practices on the current, best evidence. And she suggests how researchers, educators, and managers can translate social science, research findings, and other principles into more effective management practice. Well, I'm all for that.

Introducing the concept of evidence-based management, Rousseau notes that "The phrase 'evidence-based' is a buzzword... with all the risk of triteness and superficiality that buzzword status conveys. Let’s not be misled by its current popularity. Evidence-based practice has tremendous substance and discipline behind it. We can observe its impact in ...policing and secondary education."

Big E vs. little e. I really like how Rousseau distinguishes between two types of evidence, and explains why they both matter. She says "In all the attention we now give to evidence, it helps to differentiate what might be called 'Big E' Evidence from 'little e' evidence. Big E Evidence refers to generalizable knowledge regarding cause-effect connections (e.g., specific goals promote higher attainment than general or vague goals) derived from scientific methods—the focus of this article. Little e evidence is local or organization specific, as exemplified by root cause analysis and other fact-based approaches the total quality movement introduced for organizational decision making... It refers to data systematically gathered in a particular setting to inform local decisions."