Philosophy of science underlying engaged scholarship

This chapter develops a philosophical foundation for engaged scholarship by showing how researchers’ implicit philosophies of science shape what they treat as real, how they justify knowledge claims, and which methods they privilege. We conceptually compare four influential traditions, positivism, relativism, pragmatism, and realism, to clarify their distinctive assumptions about ontology, epistemology, and the role of values in inquiry. Building on this review, we advance a critical realist position for engaged scholarship that combines an objective ontology with fallibilist, theory laden, and value aware knowledge production. We argue that engaged scholarship is strengthened when researchers make their assumptions explicit, incorporate multiple stakeholder perspectives, and use theoretical and methodological triangulation to evaluate convergent, inconsistent, and contradictory evidence. We also outline implications for theorizing and research practice, including reflexivity regarding interests and power, abductive theorizing in response to anomalies, and a model centered approach that links explanation to intervention in problematic situations. Overall, the chapter offers a conceptual rationale for engaged scholarship and specifies how critical realism can support rigorous, relevant, and actionable organizational theory.