What is Practical Relevance, Really? Measurement and Impact

Bridging the gap between management research and practice is a global challenge with profound implications for the future of the discipline. We argue that this divide persists due to inadequate attention to the multidimensional nature of practical relevance and the lack of scientific measurement methods. This study operationalizes practical relevance as a construct with three dimensions: conceptual, instrumental, and symbolic relevance. Drawing on open systems theory, we use a large sample of 20,705 articles from FT50 journals and computer-assisted text analysis (CATA) to objectively measure these dimensions and explore their effects on academic legitimacy. The findings show that conceptual and symbolic relevance positively impact academic legitimacy, while instrumental relevance has a negative effect. Furthermore, the balance between instrumental and symbolic relevance suppresses legitimacy, while the balance between conceptual and symbolic relevance promotes it. These results provide both theoretical and methodological insights for scholars and institutions aiming to enhance the practical value of management research.