Paradox Research in Management Science: The First 25 Years and the Next 25 Years

We review 25 years of paradox research in the management domain. Content analysis highlights six research themes, which have received strongly varying research attention. Our review further suggests that the field has increasingly simplified the complex, often messy phenomena of paradox. While greater simplicity renders phenomena understandable and testable, oversimplifying complex realities can foster reductionist and incomplete theories. Hence, theory building has dual needs: simplicity (providing parsimony and pragmatism) and complexity (ensuring goodness of fit and completeness). We therefore suggest a future research agenda targeted at building a meta-theory of paradox, which returns to the field?s rich roots in philosophy and psychology to tap into and capture the greater complexity of paradox. This future research agenda leverages the potential of paradox in a great variety of research streams in the management domain.