Journal of Management Vol. XX No. X, Month XXXX 1–28 DOI: 10.1177/0149206316647102 © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav 1 Theory Building: A Review and Integration Dean A. Shepherd Indiana University Roy Suddaby University of Victoria Newcastle University Building theories is important for advancing knowledge of management. But it is also a highly challenging task. Although there is a burgeoning literature that offers many theorizing tools, we lack a coherent understanding of how these tools fit together—when to use a particular tool and which combination of tools can be used in the theorizing process. In this article, we organize a systematic review of the literature on theory building in management around the five key ele- ments of a good story: conflict, character, setting, sequence, and plot and arc. In doing so, we hope to provide a richer understanding of how specific theorizing tools facilitate aspects of the theorizing process and offer a clearer big picture of the process of building important theories. We also offer pragmatic empirical theorizing as an approach that uses quantitative empirical findings to stimulate theorizing. Keywords: creativity; grounded theory; philosophy of science; entrepreneurship theory Management scholars have been highly attentive to the role of theory. A prerequisite for publication in elite management journals is that papers make a contribution to theory (Colquitt & Zapata-Phelan, 2007; Hambrick, 2007; Rynes, 2005; Sutton & Staw, 1995). While some scholars question the extent of this preeminence of theory (Hambrick, 2007; Pfeffer, 2014), there is little argument about the importance of building theories for advancing knowledge of management (Suddaby, 2014a). For example, business scholars have called for new theories of organization (Suddaby, Hardy, & Huy, 2011), entrepreneurship (Shepherd, 2015), Acknowledgments: The authors would like to acknowledge, for comments on the previous versions of the article, J. Craig Wallace (action editor), two anonymous reviewers, and the participants of both the Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research Exchange and the QUT boot camp. Corresponding author: Dean A. Shepherd, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, 1309 E. Tenth St., Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. E-mail: shepherd@indiana.edu 647102JOM XX X 10.1177/0149206316647102Journal of ManagementShepherd, Suddaby / Theory Building research-article 2016 at INDIAN INST TECH KANPUR on July 18, 2016 jom.sagepub.com Downloaded from