Theoretical perspectives in operations management: an analysis of the literature

Abstract

Purpose – It is important to advance operations management (OM) knowledge while being mindful of the theoretical developments of the discipline. The purpose of this paper is to explore which theoretical perspectives have dominated the OM field. This analysis allows the authors to identify theory trends and gaps in the literature and to identify fruitful areas for future research. A reflection on theory is also practical, given that it guides research toward important questions and enlightens OM practitioners. Design/methodology/approach – The authors provide an analysis of OM theory developments in the last 30 years. The study encompasses three decades of OM publications across three OM journals and contains an analysis of over 3,000 articles so as to identify which theories, over time, have been adopted by authors in order to understand OM topics. Findings – The authors find that the majority of studies are atheoretical, empirical, and focussed upon theory testing rather than on theory development. Some theories, such as the resource-based view and contingency theory, have an enduring relevance within OM. The authors also identify theories from psychology, economics, sociology, and organizational behavior that may, in the future, have salience to explain burgeoning OM research areas such as servitization and sustainability. Research limitations/implications – The study makes a novel contribution by exploring which main theories have been adopted or developed in OM, doing so by systematically analyzing articles from the three main journals in the field (the Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, and the International Journal of Operations and Production Management), which encompass three decades of OM publications. In order to focus the study, the authors may have missed important OM articles in other journals. Practical implications – A reflection on theories is important because theories inform how a researcher or practicing manager interprets and solves OM problems. This study allows the authors to reflect on the collective OM journey to date, to spot trends and gaps in the literature, and to identify fruitful areas for future research. Originality/value – As far as the authors are aware, there has not been an assessment of the main theoretical perspectives in OM. The research also identifies which topics are published in OM journals, and which theories are adopted to investigate them. The authors also reflect on whether the most cited papers and those winning best paper awards are theoretical. This gives the authors a richer understanding of the current state of OM research.

Interorganizational Performance Management: A Co‐evolutionary Model

“…In fact, PM is not only a set of interrelated processes (Neely et al 2002). Rather, it serves as 'a linguistic device used to organize a complex empirical world' (Bacharach 1989, p. 496) as cited in (Walker et al 2015(Walker et al , p. 1183 As further elaborated in the methods section, our research process started off with queries aimed at understanding differences between organizational and interorganizational PM. 1 This conceptual paper seeks to contribute to this challenge, based on a review of interorganizational cooperation and PM literature.…”

“…The conceptual model we seek to develop does not represent a theory in the sense of offering a validated explanation of a phenomenon as common in the natural sciences. Rather, it serves as 'a linguistic device used to organize a complex empirical world' (Bacharach 1989, p. 496) as cited in (Walker et al 2015(Walker et al , p. 1183 As further elaborated in the methods section, our research process started off with queries aimed at understanding differences between organizational and interorganizational PM. Key authors in the field were identified; highly cited research was looked up using academic and publishers' databases.…”

Supply chain strategies in an era of natural resource scarcity

“…Eisenhardt, 1989;Ketokivi and Choi, 2014;Walker et al, 2015). Theory elaboration was used because this research focuses on a contemporary phenomenon, i.e.…”

Approaches to Staff Behaviour From the Perspective of Operations Management

“…We need to make sure that all progress in operations management theory leads to research that is both scientific and relevant [Walker et al, 2015].…”