New piece on: How to Undertake Great Cross-Disciplinary Research

Editorial on: How to Undertake Great Cross-Disciplinary Research

As an applied social science, business-to-business research is inherently cross-disciplinary. The general theories that provide insight into business relationships, systems, and markets have disciplinary foundations in the economics, psychology, sociology, and management disciplines. When conducting cross-disciplinary research, academic researchers, like their counterparts in industry, must overcome functional silos. Depending on the type of research challenge, a multi-disciplinary approach may be required; however, differences in incentives, culture, terminology and jargon, and so forth all can lead to opportunistic and counterproductive behavior.

In this editorial, we explore how to undertake cross-disciplinary research that advances knowledge and understanding in the domain of business-to-business research. To achieve this purpose, we elaborate on the theorizing processes; we examine how to break cross-disciplinary boundaries; and we provide practical guidelines for undertaking cross-disciplinary research.

Please visit: Lindgreen, A., Di Benedetto, C.A., Brodie, R., and van der Borgh, M. (2020), “How to undertake great cross–disciplinary research,” Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 90, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.03.025