Walking the line

Abstract

In his first big hit, Johnny Cash sang about his love for Vivian, his first wife—a love that made him walk the line between the many temptations he faced on the tour and staying faithful to her.  In management research, we also try to walk an otherwise imaginary line.  If we substitute knowledge (as our object of desire) for Vivian, academic rigour for (methodological) temptations, and practical relevance for faithfulness, we are exactly where Johnny Cash was in 1956.