The FPM Department at JIMS, Rohini invited Dr. Garima Gupta, Professor at FMS, Delhi University, to conduct a session with the research scholars at the campus on 2nd February 2026. The session centred on the theme of "Management research as a driver of policy relevance, economic efficiency, and social progress," and offered a wide-ranging discussion on how doctoral and management research can be made more meaningful, rigorous, and useful beyond the walls of academia.
Dr. Gupta opened the session by stressing the importance of choosing research topics that are relevant, impactful, and socially meaningful. She cautioned researchers against gravitating toward convenience-driven or incremental topics simply because they are easier to execute, and urged them instead to focus on questions that speak to major economic, organizational, and policy-level problems. Research that engages with systemic issues — such as inefficiencies in governance, market failures, institutional constraints, or social inequities — stands a far better chance of shaping policy and practice than research confined to narrow or repetitive themes. She suggested that the relevance of a piece of research should ultimately be judged by the societal need it addresses, its impact on stakeholders, and its long-term value, rather than by short-term academic output alone.
Building on this, she elaborated on why relevance matters so much in management research today. Choosing topics that speak to contemporary economic, organizational, and societal challenges gives research the ability to inform policy formulation, guide organizational decision-making, and contribute to institutional reform. She encouraged the scholars in the room to regularly ask themselves whether their chosen topics could genuinely inform governance frameworks or advance social progress, and to evaluate their work not just on its academic merit but on its real-world significance — thinking in terms of stakeholder impact, policy implications, and the kind of lasting value it might create.
A significant part of the session was devoted to the pursuit of novelty and innovation in research design. Dr. Gupta was careful to clarify that novelty does not necessarily demand complex models or elaborate methodology — it can just as easily come from a fresh perspective, an unexplored context, or a variable that has so far received little attention. In this context, she made a strong case for exploratory and qualitative research approaches, particularly in domains that are still emerging or inherently complex. Tools such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, case studies, and grounded theory, she noted, are especially effective for surfacing meaningful insights in such areas. Importantly, she pointed out that such exploratory findings need not remain standalone — they can later be built upon and translated into experimental or quantitative research, allowing for theory testing and broader generalization of results.
Dr. Gupta then moved on to the value of integrating a strategic perspective into management research. She argued that research is strongest when it is conducted with an eye on longterm implications rather than short-term observations, and when research questions are framed around organizational sustainability, institutional resilience, and strategic decision making. A strategic lens, she explained, allows researchers to study how firms, governments, and institutions actually respond to uncertainty, competition, and shifts in policy — and research that aligns with such strategic priorities tends to be far more readily adopted by policymakers and practitioners. In her view, this kind of strategic thinking is what allows management research to genuinely contribute to informed planning, competitive advantage, and systemic improvement.
This naturally led into a discussion of management research as a foundation for evidence based governance — one of the central arguments of the session. Dr. Gupta explained that policies grounded in empirical research tend to be more effective, transparent, and accountable than those based on assumption or intuition. Management research, in this sense, equips policymakers with data-driven insights that can be used to evaluate existing policies, identify inefficiencies, and design corrective interventions. As governments and regulatory bodies increasingly turn to academic research to strengthen policy outcomes, evidence-based governance becomes less reliant on guesswork and more grounded in informed decision-making across public institutions.
She also spoke about the contribution of management research to economic efficiency, both at the organizational and macroeconomic level. Research findings, she noted, help identify inefficiencies within markets, institutions, and governance structures, and by offering evidence-based solutions, management research supports better resource allocation, productivity enhancement, and institutional effectiveness. Studies in governance, organizational behaviour, and strategic management, she added, ultimately feed into improved economic performance and more sustainable growth — a reminder that research driven efficiency benefits not just individual organizations, but entire economic systems.
Dr. Gupta closed the session by emphasizing the importance of acknowledging the limitations of one's own research. Recognizing these limitations, she said, is not a weakness but a reflection of scholarly rigour and intellectual honesty. Whether these limitations relate to data constraints, methodological choices, or the contextual scope of the study, they should be clearly and transparently articulated. Far from undermining a study's credibility, an honest discussion of its limitations actually strengthens the reliability of its outcomes and reflects well on the researcher's judgment and integrity.