Q&A. What Can Action Research Learn from Business Environment Analysis?

Abstract

Business environment analysis is used to identify strategically relevant external and internal factors, both expected and unexpected, that can affect an organization's performance. Hence, business environment analysis is the process of interpreting signals from outside the firm and then--through insights gained through this analysis--changing the company's operation and strategic intent to make the organization more viable. Action research appears to be a promising starting point for bridging the divide between academia and business, because action research does not accept the boundaries between the researcher and what is being researched and it seeks to bring in other types of knowledge fields. Here, Wahlstrom uncovers the lessons that action research can learn from business environment analysis.