The irrelevance of management research: nature of the 'problem' and some European hope - A reply to 'renaissance and renewal in management studies: relevance regained' - J. Pfeffer

Pfeffer's plea for regaining relevance in management research may be easier to accomplish in Europe than in America. History and progress have made Europe a different place where rich but different scholastic antecedents have produced an eclectic array of research approaches in a multicultural setting. But, such hetero-geneity is in danger of dilution by powerful US research hegemony unless individual and concerted action is taken . This reply offers some hope for a distinctive European response once we have digested quite well what the concept of relevance is and whether the accusation of ‘irrelevance’ is either true or important.