Looking for win/win solutions between lab-work and hands-on experience in IT research

At times, the differences between business and science place considerable stress on their relationship. Scientists blame businesses for staking their claims for product quality based upon unfounded and unjustified assumptions. Businesses blame scientists for doing research that is irrelevant outside the laboratory. In HCI and CSCW, such controversies are counter-productive. When problems arise in information systems of large organizations, researchers will be forced to do science outside the laboratory. In this paper, we analyze the differences between the business models of science and commerce, and conclude that the common interest lies in obtaining information about system and stakeholder requirements that is reliable as well as valid. This can be achieved by applying controlled field experiments, combining a laboratory set-up with high ecological validity. Three business cases (i.e. VirTouch, The Mediator Group, and Exact Holding) illustrate that our common ground can initiate research that serves both scientific and business purposes. We round off our discussion with some recommendations on science-business cooperation and we will end on an ethical note.