Doi: 10. 1016/S0272-6963(08)00078-8

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Journal of Operations Management
Call for Papers
Special Issue:
“Field Research in Operations & Supply Chain Management
Editors:
Ananth Raman, Harvard University
Elliot Rabinovich, Arizona State University
Nicole DeHoratius, University of Portland
This special issue seeks to encourage field research in operations and supply chain management. Field research,
defined as the systematic study of original data – qualitative or quantitative – gathered from real organizations, is
key to our understanding of operational phenomena. Such research is usually characterized by a detailed description
of the practice of operations in a particular firm, business, or industry.
Academia’s understanding of operations and supply chain management can benefit greatly from insights obtained
through field research. Field research often illuminates the actual behavior of operations managers, for example,
as opposed to normative theory that defines how managers should behave. Through field research, academics can
explore the implementation of managerial norms and the practical validity of theoretical models.
We welcome manuscripts on any operations and supply chain management topic including, but not limited to,
global supply chain management, information technology, new product design and development, retail execution,
and service operations. We seek a diverse set of methodologies including action research, case based research, 
content or textual analysis, ethnography, experiments, and statistical analysis of primary or survey-based datasets
collected by the authors. Research using analytical modeling or statistical analysis of secondary datasets must
address research questions that have been motivated by in-depth, firm- or industry-specific observations made by
the authors. Authors must demonstrate a deep understanding of their research context through rich phenomenological
descriptions, make extensive use of empirical data, and utilize methodological rigor. 
Examples of appropriate work include:
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Action based research whereby the authors design and evaluate improvement paths for operations 
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Analysis of firm-specific databases (e.g., inventory, production, and/or financial) to understand the link
between operational and financial performance. This may be cross-sectional or longitudinal. 
•
Content or textual analysis of firm-specific communications 
•
Comparative case studies designed to provide insight and a framework for operational practice 
•
Ethnographic research to advance our insight into particular industry or firm challenges 
•
Natural experiments to observe an operational change and evaluate its impact on performance 
We aim to foster research that contributes to our knowledge of the actual practice of operations and supply chain
management. Such work can challenge, support, and/or extend existing theory, can identify the lack of theory to
explain observed phenomenon, or can be exploratory and thus theory building. In sum, we seek papers that identify
or address new problems and question relevant to academics and practitioners alike.
All manuscripts must conform to JOM requirements. Submitted papers will be reviewed by the guest editors for
suitability before being sent to reviewers. Papers should be submitted as Microsoft Word files, double-spaced with
title, author and contact information on the title page. Papers invited for revision will undergo one or two revisions
beyond the first submission. The guest editors along with the Editors-in-Chief will make all decisions as to the
manuscripts’ suitability for the special issue. Please submit manuscripts via email to: Elliot Rabinovich at
[e-mail]. The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2009
doi:10.1016/S0272-6963(08)00078-8

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