"Practice-Integrated Research Seedbeds: A conceptual framework for embedding inquiry in management education"

Abstract

"Business schools prepare students for professional action but often provide limited training on how evidence is produced, evaluated, and used in managerial decisions. This gap weakens the use of evidence in practice and perpetuates a research–practice divide. Although undergraduate research and research-based learning have demonstrated strong benefits across disciplines, their integration into management education remains fragmented and peripheral. This study introduces a conceptual framework for Practice-Integrated Research Seedbeds (PIRS), which repositions inquiry as a core professional competence rather than an academic exercise. PIRS are structured learning communities in which undergraduate students engage in sustained, mentored inquiry while addressing authentic organizational problems. Drawing on scholarship in undergraduate research, communities of practice, and evidence-based management, the framework specifies core components, design principles, and ethical and quality safeguards that enable scalable implementation without undermining the practitioner orientation of business programs. This study further proposes an evaluation agenda that captures students’ learning, professional outputs, engagement processes, and institutional and societal impacts. Although developed for management education, the framework offers transferable design logic for other professionally oriented fields seeking to integrate inquiry into practice. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd"