By its very nature, management is a multidisciplinary enterprise. Despite this, management research has tended to be organized around a number of discrete management disciplines with their own methodological outlooks. As a result, researchers in different fields often find it difficult to appreciate work outside their own area of specialization, so inhibiting much-needed collaboration across disciplinary boundaries. This significant text aims to remedy this situation by relating key methodological debates in social research to specific management fields. It provides a thoughtful examination of five fundamental research concepts that must be taken into account by management researchers whatever the nature of their particular project: science, theory, data, validity and significance. Each concept is considered in depth and its role is examined in each of four major fields of management study: accounting, finance, marketing, and organizational behaviour. Management has emerged as a major area of research that has attracted students in growing numbers. However, there are still relatively few texts that are tailored specifically to the needs and interests of management researchers. Together with its companion volume, "Research Skills for Management Studies" (Routledge, 2003), this book offers management students a challenging but accessible introduction to research methods and concepts, irrespective of their field of specialization.