Co-Developing Knowledge with Managers: Moving Beyond Research-Practice Tensions to Generate Impact

The paper addresses the persistent research-practice gap between academia and industry, emphasizing the need for effective collaboration to bridge this divide. The increasing complexity of societal problems and the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge underscore the importance of connecting scientific discovery with practical application. Empirically, the paper analyzes the case of the Health, Safety and Environment Laboratory project, a multi-year collaboration between academics and large companies in Italy. The study aims to answer questions about how co-creation partnerships evolve to generate impacts and how tensions related to research-practice collaboration are managed and evolve during the project. The findings contribute to the literature by introducing a four-phase co-creation model, identifying specific tensions, and amplifying two mechanisms that characterize co-creation partnerships and the management of the tensions.