Design science research (DSR) is based on the work of Professor Joan Ernst van Aken (Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, The Netherlands). The core mission of DSR is to develop general knowledge which can be used by professionals in the field in question to design solutions to their specific problems. Driving force of DSR is the utilization problem (Susman & Evered, 1978) or rigor-relevance dilemma (Argyris & Schon, 1991). ‘Management theory is either scientifically proven, but then too reductionistic and hence too broad or too trivial to be of much practical relevance, or relevant to practice, but then lacking sufficient rigorous justification’ (Van Aken, 2004: p. 221). Therefore, Van Aken proposes to make a distinction between description- and prescription-driven research programs. Whereas the former aims at explaining problems, the latter aims at generating knowledge to be used in designing solutions to solve problems.
Read more about Design Science Research: Characteristics, Typical Research Product, Design Science Artefacts
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