Theory in SCM
seminar at DS department and fruitful discussion with by Prof. Prakas Singh, University of Melbourne, on the “State of theory in SCM: a response to Williamson’s criticisms”. Prakas is also the co-author of the well-known text book “Operations Management: An Integrated Approach” (web)
“The Nobel Laureate Oliver Williamson has been highly critical of the state of theory in the supply chain management field. In essence, Williamson considers the state of theory to be poor and suggests that this has the potential to affect the field’s development into an academic discipline worthy of serious scholarship. In this seminar, I will outline the nature of each of his criticisms. I will then provide a response to these criticisms by drawing upon research, including my own, to accept or refute Williamson’s criticisms. I will also draw upon some frameworks from the philosophy of science discipline to place the state of theory in the supply chain management field in a broader philosophical context, and provide some thoughts on what should be done to rectify the problems that seem to exist. (more)
