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AbstractThis paper examines some of the contributions of Gerard de Zeeuw to scholarship in general and to the study of multi‐agent contexts in particular. His general contribution to scholarship revolves around the notions of research and improvement of action. In de Zeeuw's scholarly writings, research has been viewed as a developing narrative. As the practice of research expands in any field, it comes in contact with greater and greater variety of disturbances and this creates a strain on the basic script on which the narrative of research in that field is based. This can lead to a narrative break‐off. However, sometimes the script can be so modified as to restore the flow of the narrative, until another period of strain is experienced. Such a narrative break‐off is evident in the so‐called applied disciplines where researchers cannot ignore the influence of various agents while seeking to bring about improvements in a practical context. Here, the context of research becomes a multi‐agent context, where multiple viewpoints and frameworks intercede in the process of creation of various effects. The paper describes the kind of response developed in the work of de Zeeuw to deal with the task of improving co‐ordination in multi‐agent contexts. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.