| Title |
Guidelines for theory selection: the IMPACT framework |
| Authors |
Hollebeek, Linda Desiree ; Kumar, V ; Srivastava, Rajendra K ; Lim, Weng Marc ; Urbonavičius, Sigitas |
| DOI |
10.1002/mar.70009 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
Psychology & marketing.. Hoboken : Wiley. 2025, first published online, p. [1-18].. ISSN 0742-6046. eISSN 1520-6793 |
| Keywords [eng] |
macro‐foundational theory ; marketing ; meso‐foundational theory ; micro‐foundational theory ; psychology ; research impact ; theory ; theory selection |
| Abstract [eng] |
Though the role of adopting an appropriate theory in shaping the publishability and impact of research has long been recognized, psychology and marketing researchers lack specific guidance on how to choose a theory to frame their work. Addressing this gap in the literature, this article proposes a set of guidelines for the selection of relevant macrofoundational theory to guide research projects addressing specific meso‐ or micro‐foundational theoretical entities (e.g., constructs or individual decision‐making) for research impact. Specifically, we develop a set of six guidelines to select an appropriate macro‐foundational theory for research impact, including Interestingness, Matching, Parsimony, Applicability, Conceptual rigor, and Testability (collectively abbreviated as the “IMPACT” guidelines). We next depict the proposed guidelines in an organizing framework that specifies Matching, the theoretical co‐infusion of the studied micro‐ or mesofoundational theoretical entity and the chosen macro‐foundational theory, as the central action item for researchers to shape the impact of their work. Researchers are then advised to use the five remaining guidelines to assess the quality of their proposed Matching for research impact. We conclude by discussing pertinent implications that arise from our analyses (e.g., to ensure Interestingness, we recommend researchers to select a macro‐foundational theory that refutes (vs. affirms) prior findings). |
| Published |
Hoboken : Wiley |
| Type |
Journal article |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2025 |
| CC license |
|
