The modern world of management faces a vast amount of data and theories that aim to support decision-making. However, not all approaches are based on solid scientific foundations. Often, theories appear credible but, upon closer examination, prove to be pseudoscientific, parascientific, or protonscientific. Distinguishing these approaches and understanding how to use evidence-based management (EBM) in management is crucial for making effective decisions. To better understand these differences, let’s examine controversial theories such as wandering RNA and the structure of water, and their relevance to management practice.
We believe that in an era of easy access to information and frequent encounters with pseudoscientific theories, our role as responsible professionals is to clearly distinguish science from pseudoscience, parascience, and protonscience.
Pseudoscience, Parascience, and Protonscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience refers to a set of theories or claims that present themselves as scientific but lack solid evidence and fail to meet basic methodological standards. Pseudoscience often lacks the verifiability of results, and the hypotheses are untestable or disproven by experimental evidence.
Example in management: The idea that an organization can achieve success solely through a so-called "secret formula" based on unverified thoughts or popular but unconfirmed ideas (e.g., manipulation of "organizational energy").
Parascience
Parascience is a field that is not fully recognized by mainstream science but still remains within the scientific interest. It often lacks the standards required to be considered full science but may be helpful in certain research or experimental cases.
Example in management: Theories based on popular but unconfirmed research suggesting that certain motivational techniques (such as affirmations or "sound therapy") can be effective in management, despite lacking full confirmation in studies on management effectiveness.
Protonscience
Protonscience refers to an area that lies on the border between science and pseudoscience but has the potential for further development and could lead to real science. Protonscience does not yet meet all scientific requirements but research in this area may provide new tools to understand phenomena.
Example in management: Research on organizational psychology that begins to study subjective factors influencing employee performance but is not yet fully confirmed, such as studying the impact of "employee feelings" on their results, which needs further validation in different organizational contexts.
Wandering RNA and the Structure of Water
Wandering RNA is an example of pseudoscience because this theory lacks experimental confirmation and does not meet the methodological standards of science. Claims that RNA can wander freely between cells in a way unrelated to existing biological mechanisms are an example of speculation that lacks solid scientific support. From the EBM perspective, such theories would have no place in decision-making processes because they are not based on reliable evidence.
Application in management: Using theories that lack solid scientific evidence can lead to wrong decisions by management. For example, implementing unconfirmed motivational or developmental methods that may turn out to be ineffective, instead of using proven management practices based on evidence.
Theories about the structure of water, which suggest that water has "memory" and can store information (e.g., in homeopathy), are classic examples of parascience. While research on water and its properties is fascinating, there is still little evidence to support this theory. Water may have some structures that are an interesting area of research, but claims that it can store information are speculative and lack solid evidence.
Application in management: Just like with pseudoscience, the use of theories that are not confirmed by evidence can lead to ineffective solutions in organizations. In management, using unproven theories (e.g., related to organizational psychology or motivation) can result in poor decisions that do not deliver the expected outcomes.
Evidence-Based Management (EBM)
Evidence-Based Management (EBM) is an approach that relies on solid scientific evidence when making managerial decisions. EBM requires organizations to use available research, data, and experiences to make informed decisions. This approach is the opposite of using pseudoscientific, parascientific, or protonscientific theories, which can lead to erroneous conclusions.
EBM example: Instead of relying on unverified ideas, organizations using EBM base their decisions on data regarding employee performance, organizational outcomes, and scientific research to implement practices that have been proven to be effective.
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