In Search of Evidence

General Introduction
Some of the questions allowed for a straightforward, empirical approach: this is the
question, here is how the data were obtained, these are the findings, and this is
therefore the most likely answer. Other questions, however, were best considered
from a professional perspective. The answers to these questions are, by necessity, more
reflective and evaluative in nature. Answering the eight questions has taken many
years — a long journey that has led me to numerous different directions before
reaching my final destination. This thesis is hence not structured as a linear narrative,
but, rather, reflects the different directions and detours I had to take in order to collect
the evidence. The process of gathering evidence has been iterative in nature —
sometimes the evidence found raised new questions or challenged previous answers.
As a result, the order in which the questions are addressed in this thesis does not
always correspond with the order in which they were answered.
Answering the Main Question — a Journey of Eight Steps
Q8
Q4
Q7
Insight
Q2 Q3
Q6
Q1
Q5
2007 2009 2011
2013
2015
Question 1a: What are the similarities and differences between medicine and
management?
Question 1b: What can managers and academics learn from evidence-based
medicine?
At the start of my journey I encountered many scholars and practitioners who
argued that evidence-based medicine was not applicable to management, because
management is not a profession. Unlike medicine, management lacks a formal body of
knowledge that is shared by all members in the professional group and which acts as a
common frame of reference during discussions and debates within the discipline. In