Mistaking Statistics for Rigor in American Business School Research: Should China Follow, or Lead in a New Direction?

The heavy emphasis on statistical rigor that business schools in American universities place on research is questionable in general and, for business schools in China, is not necessarily a good strategy by which either to produce useful research or to distinguish themselves from business schools in the United States. The reasons for this pertain to, first, what statistical analysis is good for in science; second, what statistical analysis is not good for in science; third, what statistical analysis is and is not good for in business research; fourth, how a large sample size is not generalizable but a single case is; fifth, how action research, design research, and Herbert Simon’s “sciences of the artificial” all demonstrate rigor without statistics; and finally, the historical context that explains the turn to statistics in American business schools but is irrelevant to China. The recommendation is for business schools in China not necessarily to reject statistical research, but rather, to also pursue other, equally scientific forms of research, including those recognized by Herbert Simon.