Criteria for Strengthening the Social Utility of Work and Organizational Psychology Research: an Examination Through its Links to Practice

This article examines the ways in which researchers in work and organizational psychology (WOP) carry out our research. What research practices do we deploy to satisfy socially useful purposes, that is to contribute to the autonomy and emancipation of workers? Pursuing such an objective involves linking research practices to the aim of transformation. How do we go about this? How can we build bridges between these two areas? Under what conditions and according to what criteria can research practices strengthen their social utility? This article discusses the limitations of the principle of axiological neutrality with regard to the objective of transforming work situations – the goal that should govern WOP research – highlighting the criteria (the aims pursued, the source of the “demand”, the links between knowledge and action, the researcher’s position, and the process management) around which research practices are structured. It examines the conditions that enable these practices to genuinely contribute to the objective of social transformation. Each of these criteria is considered through a critical analysis to highlight methods that can be enlisted to contribute to socially useful change: that is, making the aims of social transformation explicit, ensuring the ownership of the process by the stakeholders in the field, establishing reciprocal support between theory and practice, committing to a process of co-construction with stakeholders, and constructing a reflective and iterative process. The article explores the way WOP makes use of these approaches, showing the existence of different representations of researchers with regard to the methods employed and how these can act as a driving force for organizational and social change. Particular focus is given to the place of knowledge on the one hand and the involvement of stakeholders on the other as potential catalysts.