The Importance of Objectivity and Falsification in Management Science

In general, I thought that the Boal and Willis “Note on the Armstrong/Mitroff Debate” 1 provided an interesting and fair discussion. 2 The summary of the consequences of the subjective versus objective approaches (Table 1 in their paper) was helpful. It clearly outlined the dilemma faced by scientists: “Should I strive for personal gain or for scientific contributions?” It also described what is likely to happen to the theories generated from the subjective and objective approaches. For example, the authors claimed that the subjective approach will yield a fuller hearing for a theory.