Optimizing Concepts: Conceptual Engineering in the Field of Management—The Case of Routines Research

Abstract

The paper outlines a novel perspective for theory building by showing how methods of conceptual engineering enable systematic development of conceptual competences. Conceptual engineering is a hot topic in philosophy (Cappelen, Plunkett, & Burgess, 2019), with many interesting achievements and applications. Using it in organization and management theory may shed a new light on the most typical conceptual strategies in theory building, so-called conceptualizations and reconceptualizations, and help systematically improve them. Focusing on organization and management theory, the paper introduces conceptual engineering as a tool to optimize concepts in the management field and builds a proof of concept on two selected examples from routines research. Besides paving a new way in theory development, conceptual engineering gives an interesting solution to the rigor/relevance problem as it shows that the scientific perspective on the practical relevance of a theory requires rigor on the level of concepts.