In Search of Evidence

Chapter 1
such studies critically and assessing their value for management practice. In evidencebased
medicine a framework was developed to critically appraise such studies. In
chapter 6 it is discussed whether and how this framework could be applied to metaanalysis
and systematic reviews in the field of management.
Question 6: What are managers’ attitudes and perceived barriers to evidence-based
management?
Halfway through my journey I reached the preliminary conclusion that the main
question of this thesis should be answered positively. This was based on there being
large similarities between the fields of evidence-based medicine and evidence-based
management: the obstacles to the development of evidence-based management
nowadays are the same ones that blocked the evolution of evidence-based medicine
two decades ago, and most of the tools and principles developed in evidence-based
medicine seem to be applicable to the field of management. In addition, there is
sufficient high-quality scientific evidence available to inform management practice.
However, an important question has not yet been answered, notably what are
managers’ attitudes towards evidence-based management? After all, the main
question would still have to be answered negatively if managers regarded evidencebased
practice as irrelevant or if they foresaw too many barriers to integrate this new
approach into their daily practice. To answer this question, more than 1,500
management practitioners in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States were
surveyed. The outcome of this survey is discussed in chapter 7.
Question 7: How to become an evidence-based HR-manager?
The complexity and fast pace of life in today’s organizations often lead to
questionable business decisions, fad chasing and guesswork regarding ‘what works’.
Under these conditions, busy HR managers may put their critical decision-making
abilities on autopilot, thus negatively affecting the future of their firms and their
employees. However, now that we have established that the principles of evidencebased
medicine are also applicable to management, it is clear that an HR manager
does have a way to make better decisions — that is by becoming an ‘evidence-based’
HR manager. The question is, of course, how? This chapter presents a step-by-step
approach to becoming an evidence-based manager, from getting started, through
everyday practices and continuous learning, to integrating evidence-based practice into
the organization.