Gate-and-Expand: Enhancing Credible Evolution in Indigenous Management Theories

Abstract Indigenous management theories often seek to evolve from context-specific explanations to broader theoretical contributions. Yet such expansion is frequently undermined by two recurring problems: meaning drift, where construct labels travel while their underlying meaning or measurement shifts, and mechanism slippage, where theories are stretched through post hoc moderators or rotating mediators rather than coherent causal explanations. This paper introduces a Gate-and-Expand framework that builds on Chen’s (2025) theory-evolution map and specifies two checkpoints for credible theoretical expansion. Gate 1 (Construct Portability) evaluates whether a focal construct retains comparable latent meaning and measurement across contexts. Gate 2 (Mechanism Transportability) examines whether a compact, pre-specified causal mechanism continues to explain outcomes and outperforms plausible rival explanations when the theory is extended. By clarifying evidentiary standards for expanding contextual and explanatory scope, the framework helps distinguish credible theoretical extension from overreach and supports more cumulative indigenous management research.