Robert Sutton presents the case for using scholarly research in business in an article in Strategy and Leadership (2004). See if you can track down this article on the web and see what you think of his views. There is a strong case there for what we do when we search for and review what others have published in the field. Most business problems can be illuminated by finding out what others have thought before and then trying to apply some of their ideas - this is a natural response, as we chat with friends or colleagues about problems. How much better then to look for and use the extensive work researchers have put in on similar problems and gain the advantage of their scholarly work, provided we can put it into our own context.