Editorial
Cinderella in the C-Suite: Conducting Influential Research to
Advance the Logistics and Supply Chain Disciplines
Stanley E. Fawcett1 and Matthew A. Waller2, with invited author Donald J. Bowersox3
1Georgia Southern University
2University of Arkansas
3Michigan State University
INTRODUCTION
Not long ago, a member of the JBL Interest Group was
engaged in a discussion with his dean regarding the role of
logistics and supply chain management (SCM) within the
business school. Perhaps you will not be surprised to hear
that a difference of opinion had existed regarding three key
points: (1) the journals on the school’s ‘‘A-list,’’ (2) the number,
type, and importance of classes in the supply chain curriculum,
and (3) resource-allocation (i.e., hiring) decisions.
As the JBL Interest Group member argued for the strategic
importance of SCM in today’s academic and business communities,
the dean responded, ‘‘When I was a PhD student,
logistics was viewed as the business school’s ugly stepdaughter.’’
Regrettably, this dean’s this early perception of logistics
had been formative, remaining unchanged in the more than
30 years since he had completed his doctoral program.
Although this conversation was neither the first nor the last
of its kind, it is illustrative of our field’s challenge: to raise
the visibility and stature of the logistics and supply chain disciplines
to that of strategic contributors.