One Day Theory Construction Workshop by Dr. Ajay Kohli

Hurry! Registration Closes November 10 or earlier. Limited Seats

THEORY CONSTRUCTION WORKSHOP
AJAY K. KOHLI
Regents’ Professor and Gary T. and Elizabeth R. Jones Chair Georgia Tech

The purpose of this workshop is to help participants understand the nature of a theory, the theory construction process, and to develop skills in building interesting and impactful new theory. The focus of the workshop is on nuts and bolts of building new theory (and not on philosophy of science).

PART 1 (AM): An Interactive lecture-discussion focused on:

1. What is the purpose of a theory? What is a theory, and what are its key components?
2. How does one develop persuasive arguments for supporting different types of theoretical propositions?
3. What are the characteristics of theories that are more impactful (i.e., used more) than others?
4. How does the theory construction process work?
5. What can scholars do during the theory construction process to develop more impactful theories?

PART 2 (PM): A workshop style joint critique and improvement of a select set of theoretical propositions and arguments devel- oped by participants. Please bring the following to the workshop:

1. A written proposition about the main effect of X on Y (one succinct sentence) and a written argument to justify/support the proposition. X and Y can be any variables of your choice. (Make the argument as short as possible – one sentence is ideal.)
2. A written proposition about the moderating effect of Z on the relationship between X and Y (one succinct sentence) and a written argument to justify/support the proposition. You can use any variables you wish. (Make the argument as short as possible – one sentence is ideal.)
3. A written proposition about the non-linear (e.g., inverted U-shaped) relationship between X and Y (one sentence) and a written argument to justify/support the proposition. You can use any variables you wish. (Make the argument as short as possible – two sentences are ideal.)
4. A dilemma or question you have with regard to theory or its construction.

OPTIONAL READINGS

It is not necessary to do any reading prior to the workshop. However, time permitting, reading the following may help partici- pants get more value out of the workshop:

“Causality” – Zaltman, LeMasters and Heffring, Chapter 3

Sutton, Robert I. and Barry M. Staw (1995), “What theory is Not,” Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 371-384.

Weick, Karl E. (1995), “What Theory is Not, Theorizing Is,” Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 385-390.

“Deductive and Inductive Thinking” – Zaltman, LeMasters and Heffring Chapter 5.

Weick, Karl E. (1989), “Theory Construction as Disciplined Imagination,” Academy of Management Review, 14 (4) 516-531.

“Being Interesting,” – Zaltman, LeMasters, and Heffring, Chapter 2.

MacInnis, Deborah J. (2011), “A Framework for Conceptual Contributions in Marketing,” Journal of Marketing, 75 (July), 136-154.

Kohli, Ajay K. (2011), “From the Editor: Reflections on the Review Process,” Journal of Marketing, 75 (November), 1-4.

(Zaltman, Gerald, Karen LeMasters and Michael Heffring (1982), Theory Construction in Marketing: Some Thoughts on Thinking. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.)

About Prof. Ajay K. Kohli:
Ajay K. Kohli is Regents’ Professor and Gary T. and Elizabeth R. Jones Chair at Georgia Tech. He has previ- ously taught at Emory University, Harvard Business School, and UT – Austin.

His research focuses on market orientation, customer solutions, sales management and B2B marketing. Professor Kohli is a former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Marketing. He currently serves as an AE for

JM, JMR, and IJRM.

Dr. Kohli has received the AMA/McGraw-Hill/Irwin award, the Paul D. Converse award, and the IIMC Dis- tinguished Alumnus award. He has received three Honorary Doctorates, and is an AMA Fellow, EMAC Fellow, and ISBM Fellow. He has received several “best-paper” awards, including the Sheth Foundation/ JM award (twice).