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How Academe and Business Can Connect

Roger ClarkeXamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, Canberra

Visiting Professor in eCommerce, Uni. of Hong Kong;Cyberspace Law & Policy, U.N.S.W.; and Computer

Science, ANU

http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/EC/...... ICEC06-ABC {.html, .ppt}

ICEC’06 – Fredericton NB – 15 August 2006

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How Academe and Business Can Connect

• What does Academe think Academe does?

• What would Business like Academe to do?

• What are the Bridges?

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What Does Academe Think Academe Does?

• Develops Deep Knowledge• Accumulates Knowledge by:

• basing research on current Theory• extending current Theory

• Researches what’s Empirically Researchableor Conducts Experiments that are ‘interesting’

• Achieves Quality through Rigour• Gets Rewarded for Publications

whose Rigour has been Confirmed

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Theory

• Formal Theory:• A coherent group of general

propositions that enable a systematic description of Phenomena within a particular Domain (and maybe explanation, even prediction)

• As distinct from Ad Hoc Theory:• A conjectural, as-yet-untested description

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What Would Business Like Academe To Do?

• Address Current Topicswhether or not Empirically Researchableand whether or not they’re ‘interesting’

• Pursue Instrumentalist Research(rather than conventional Pure or Applied)

• Stimulate Innovation• Achieve Quality through a Balance

between Relevance against Rigour• Get Rewarded for Work

whose Relevance has been Confirmed

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Alternative Motivations for Research

• ‘Pure Research’“because it’s there”contribute to abstract, theoretical understanding

• ‘Applied Research’“I have a hammer, so go and find me a nail”

• ‘Instrumentalist Research’“I have a problem, so go and find me a solution”

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An Eternal Tension in ResearchRelevance vs. Rigour

• Associations with Rigour• Independence, through Pure Research Motivation• Outcomes that are Explanatory• Quantitative Data / Ratio Scales / Stat’l Analysis• Determinable Causal Relationships

• Associations with Relevance• Motivation that is Instrumental, or Applied• Outcomes that are ‘Predictive’ and Normative• Whatever Data is Collectible• Complex Interdependencies

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So: What are the Bridges?

• InteractTo convert misunderstanding to appreciation

• ResourceTo encourage business-relevant research

• RewardTo compete with conventional academic rewards, and hence to shape them