Evidence-based management
Quality Management
Definition. Evidence-based management is the practice of making managerial decisions by combining the best available research evidence with organisational data, professional expertise and stakeholder values.
Explanation
Rousseau brought the idea from medicine to management (Rousseau, 2006). Debates show a persistent gap between research and practice: academics and practitioners write for different audiences (Latham, 2007; Guest, 2007).
In health care, evidence-based management supports decisions about staffing, structure and improvement methods that are often driven by fashion.
Related concepts
Evidence-based medicine Implementation science Theory building Systematic review
Read on The Health Topics
- Bridging Behavioral Science and Workplace Practice
- Don’t Shoot the Messenger: A Wake-Up Call for Academics
References
Guest, D. E. (2007). Don’t shoot the messenger: A wake-up call for academics. The Academy of Management Journal, 50 (5), 1020–1026.
Latham, G. P. (2007). A speculative perspective on the transfer of behavioral science findings to the workplace: “The times they are a-changin'”. The Academy of Management Journal, 50 (5), 1027-1032.
Rousseau, D. M. (2006). Is there such a thing as “evidence-based management”? Academy of Management Review, 31(2), 256–269. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2006.20208679
Cite this entry: Kurutkan, M. N. (2026). Evidence-based management. In The Health Topics glossary. https://healthtopic.org/glossary/evidence-based-management/