Evidence-based management is an emerging movement to explicitly use the current, best evidence in management decision-making. Its roots are in evidence-based medicine, a quality movement to apply the scientific method to medical practice.

Research in management science

Some of the publications in this area are Evidence-Based Management, Harvard Business Review, Jan 2006;Pfeffer, J. and Sutton, R.I., Harvard Business Review, Jan 2006 (Vol 84, No. 1) and Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths and Total Nonsense: Profiting From Evidence-Based Management; Pfeffer, J. and Sutton, R.I. (Harvard Business School Press, 2006). Some of the people conducting research on the effects of evidence-based management are Jeffrey Pfeffer, Robert I. Sutton, and Tracy Allison Altman.

Research in specific industries & professions

Evidence-based management is also being applied in specific industries and professions, including software development (see Evidence-Based Software Engineering for PractitionersDyba, T. et al., IEEE Software, Jan-Feb 2005 (Vol 22, No. 1)). Other areas are crime prevention (see Evidence-Based Crime PreventionSherman, L.W. (Routledge, 2002)), public management (see What Works? Evidence-Based Policy and Practice in Public ServicesDavies, H.T.O. et al., Eds. (Policy Press, 2000)), and manufacturing (see Profit Signals: How Evidence-Based Decisions Power Six Sigma BreakthroughsSloan, M.D., and Boyles, R.A. (Evidence-Based Decisions, Inc., 2003)).

Also see the Journal of Evidence Based Library and Information Practice and the International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring.

References