Research Methods for Operations and Supply Chain Management

Research Methods for Operations and Supply Chain Management, third edition, is a toolkit of research approaches primarily for advanced students and beginner researchers, but also a reference book for any researcher in operations and supply chain management (OSCM).

Many students begin their careers in research limited by the one or few approaches taken by their department. The concise, accessible overviews found here equip them with an understanding of a variety of methods and how to use them, enabling students to tailor their research project to their own strengths and goals. The more seasoned researcher will find comprehensive descriptions and analyses on a wide variety of research approaches.

This updated and enhanced edition responds to the latest developments in OSCM, including the growing prominence of services and production of intangible products, the complete supply chain, and the increasing use of secondary data and of mixed approaches. Alternative research approaches are included and explored to help with the planning of research. This edition also includes expanded literature reviews and analysis to guide students towards the next steps in their reading, and more detailed step-by-step advice to tie theory with the research.

Including contributions from an impressive range of the field’s leading thinkers in OSCM research, this is a guide that no one embarking on an OSCM research project should be without. Previous editions of this book were published under the title Research Methods for Operations Management and Researching Operations Management.

Christer Karlsson is an Emeritus Professor of Innovation and Operations Management at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. He is also an Emeritus Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden, and a Professor at the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management (EIASM) in Brussels, Belgium.