Crafting a Journal Submission that Makes a Theoretical Contribution

This workshop focuses on development of research journal submissions that make a theoretical contribution, which is a problem that many authors struggle with. Topics covered include why making a contribution to theory is important; use of theory as a roadmap; what constitutes a theoretical contribution; alignment of theoretical perspective with the research problem, data collection approach and data analysis strategy; and issues and opportunities with deductive and inductive theoretical approaches in operations and supply chain management research. Journal editors will provide examples of effective and ineffective approaches to making a theoretical contribution, as well as articulating the differences between various journals’ perspectives on theoretical contributions.