Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji joeb.80.1.47-51
Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
And Who Will Teach Them? An Investigation of the
Logistics PhD Market
Susan L. Golicic , L. Michelle Bobbitt , Robert Frankel & Steven R. Clinton
To cite this article: Susan L. Golicic , L. Michelle Bobbitt , Robert Frankel & Steven R. Clinton
(2004) And Who Will Teach Them? An Investigation of the Logistics PhD Market, Journal of
Education for Business, 80:1, 47-51, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.80.1.47-51
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.80.1.47-51
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 22
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Citing articles: 1 View citing articles
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Date: 12 January 2016, At: 22:23
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And Who Will Teach Them?
An Investigation of
the Logistics PhD Market
SUSAN L. GOLICIC
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
I
L. MICHELLE BOBBITT
ROBERT FRANKEL
Bradley University
University of North Florida
Peoria, Illinois
Jacksonville, Florida
n the early 1990s, doctoral students
in the disciplines of marketing and
logistics found themselves facing very
uncertain futures. The labor market for
newly minted PhDs was extremely
tight. In response, many doctoral programs that offered logistics degrees
sharply curtailed their enrollments.
However, immediately thereafter, the
industry began aggressively courting
both undergraduate and graduate students with degrees in logistics, materials management, and similar fields. In
response to this demand, new logistics
and supply-chain management programs were announced at several institutions (e.g., the University of
Louisville and the University of AlaskaAnchorage). In addition, position
announcements in marketing and management departments began to list logistics, distribution, or supply-chain management as desirable focus areas for
applicants.
The rise in demand now appears to
have outstripped supply. According to
our observations of the past several years,
a dearth of qualified applicants is available to fill the open positions. Equally
important, anecdotal information suggests that the situation is unlikely to
change anytime soon because of limited
logistics and supply-chain doctoral program enrollments. Our objectives in this
study were to (a) examine recent and pro-
ABSTRACT. At a time when there is
high demand for logistics/supplychain education at the undergraduate
and master’s levels, there is short supply of logistics PhDs to take faculty
positions. In this research, the authors
used both primary and secondary
research to confirm the gap between
supply and demand of logistics/
supply-chain scholars. Their study
draws attention to this salient issue and
offers suggestions as to how the discipline can monitor and manage the production of logistics/supply-chain PhDs
to bridge the supply and demand gap.
jected future demand to determine if a
supply–demand imbalance exists and if it
will continue into the future and (b)
examine factors affecting logistics doctoral program recruitment and enrollment
for correction of an imbalance.
Logistics Education Review
Logistics doctoral education in the
United States historically has been
dominated by a small number of “traditional” universities: Arizona State University, University of Arkansas, University of Maryland, Michigan State
University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Tennessee. At each of these
universities, the logistics area usually
has been part of a broader department—
most often in conjunction with marketing. This administrative structure
STEVEN R. CLINTON
University of New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
reflects the realities of a developing discipline: An extremely limited number of
logistics or transportation programs
existed before 1990.
In the late 1990s, industry interest in
logistics and supply-chain management,
combined with an expanding and robust
American economy, had companies
scouring campuses for new hires.
Although the recent economic slump
has dampened industry demand somewhat, the academic situation is not
expected to change soon, as undergraduate enrollment is expected to increase
approximately 20% to over 15 million
from 1998 to 2010 (U.S. Department of
Education, 2000). Over the past few
years, the number of Graduate Management Admission Tests (GMATs)—
required for a master’s or doctorate in
business—has leveled off to approximately 100,000 (Graduate Management
Admission Council, 2000); however,
the number of MBA degrees awarded
has skyrocketed to 97,000 (AACSB,
1999). Although these numbers represent the general business population,
one reasonably can project that these
trends apply to logistics and supplychain management.
In response to industry demand, a
number of American universities developed new logistics and supply-chain
management programs in the 1990s and
early 2000s (e.g., the University of
September/October 2004
47
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Oklahoma, the University of Wisconsin,
Syracuse University, etc.). In addition,
many marketing and management
departments developed or increased
their course offerings in the area of
logistics and supply-chain management.
Given this increased interest, logistics
academics were suddenly in higher
demand. However, as most logistics
doctoral programs were severely
reduced in the mid-1990s—and with a
minimum lead time of 4 years—many
positions simply could not be filled.
In Table 1, data taken from the most
recent Council of Graduate Schools and
National Opinion Research Center
reports (2001) show the downward
trend of business doctoral degrees
awarded, particularly those in subfields
pertaining to logistics, from 1994–95 to
2000–01. This general slump in supply
was accompanied by an overall increase
in demand. For example, in 1998–99
there were 1.4 average openings per
doctoral graduate in AACSB member
schools; in 1999–2000 (assuming no
change in the number of degrees granted), this number increased to 2.1 (Graduate Management Admission Council,
2000). Although there were no specific
numbers identified for logistics, the
numbers for the departments typically
hiring logistics PhDs (marketing, operations management, and other) were 1.3
average openings per graduate in
1998–99 with an expected increase to
2.0 in 1999–2000.
The Logistics Academic Hiring Survey conducted annually by Ohio State
University (Cooper, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003) also reinforces the difference
between supply and demand with
respect to logistics PhDs. In Table 2, we
summarize the number of positions
open for entry-level faculty members
and the number of logistics graduates
entering the market. This difference
largely can be attributed to the demand
for faculty members with a specialty in
logistics at institutions such as Iowa
State University, Western Michigan
University, and The Naval Postgraduate
School—schools other than the “traditional” seven. Such universities contribute to the demand for, but not the
supply of, logistics scholars.
Why is the number of business PhDs
decreasing when the job market seems
TABLE 1. Business Doctoral Degrees Awarded
School yeara
Degrees awarded
Marketing, management,
operations, and other subfields
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
1,206
1,216
1,221
1,165
1,104
1,069
1,049
634
663
688
618
571
582
556
a
This reflects the most recent information currently available.
TABLE 2. Logistics Hiring Statistics
48
Year
Responding
universities
Assistant or open rank
positions available
Reported number of
logistics PhD graduates
2000
2001
2002
2003
17
18
20
20
16 at 13 universities
17 at 13 universities
19 at 17 universities
18 at 13 universities
3
6
6
4
Journal of Education for Business
so attractive? According to the education literature, the two primary factors
are time and money (Petr & Wendel,
1998). The cost of obtaining a PhD is
considerable owing to the long period
of time involved. This cost includes not
only out-of-pocket expenses but also
income that would have been earned
had the student remained employed
(U.S. Department of Education, 2000).
In addition to the financial costs, students sacrifice time otherwise spent
with family or in leisure pursuits and
postpone other goals in life to pursue a
doctoral degree (Fleming, 1998–99).
Although most programs defray the
tuition costs, prospective students also
must consider costs of living for themselves and often for other family members. This factor plays such a large role
that it not only affects the choice of
institution; it also may reverse the decision to attend at all. Even if a student is
recruited successfully and begins a PhD
program, there is no guarantee that he
or she will remain in the program,
because of its difficulty and the student’s possibly incomplete understanding of what the program requires or
what she or he will face in undertaking
it. Nationwide, the voluntary dropout
rate for all doctoral students is 25%
(Evelyn, 1999).
What does the future hold? Despite
the recent economic slump, the
demand for logistics undergraduate
and master’s degrees should remain
relatively strong (U.S. Department of
Education, 2000; Graduate Management Admission Council, 2000).
Logistics programs continue to search
for new faculty members to staff both
(a) existing traditional programs that
continue to operate at capacity and (b)
new logistics and supply-chain management programs. This situation leads
to an interesting problem in academia:
Who will teach these students whom
industry so strongly desires? Doctoral
programs do not appear to have sufficient candidates in process to fill
immediate demand. In response to this
situation, a number of doctoral programs have tried to gear up to meet this
sudden demand but have discovered
another problem: a lack of increase in
the number of applicants to fill the doctoral program openings.
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Method
Given that no single academic
resource monitors the complete supply
and demand process with regard to
logistics and supply-chain management
doctoral programs, we used both primary and secondary data sources to
assess supply and demand as well as
factors affecting recruitment and
enrollment. In February 2001, we sent
one survey, which followed Dillman’s
(2000) total design method, to the
directors of the doctoral programs at
the seven traditional programs as well
as to the directors of 19 other programs
that do not offer a logistics degree but
support student research in this area. To
obtain updated graduation and hiring
numbers, we conducted a follow-up
with the seven traditional programs in
fall 2002. We asked respondents to provide us with the following information:
• Number of doctoral students in the
program and capacity of students that
could be accommodated in the program.
• Number of students graduating and
seeking full-time academic positions.
• Departmental hiring plans for
logistics faculty members over the following 3 years.
To evaluate demand, we examined faculty position announcements from three
sources (the Chronicle of Higher Education, the American Marketing Association summer conference job search database, and the marketing listserv “elmar”)
during summer 2001. The numbers and
frequency of announcements represent
demand within traditional marketing
departments for PhD graduates with an
emphasis in logistics or supply-chain
management.
In 2001, we developed and sent two
additional surveys (following the same
research design) to gain insight into the
numerous factors that may influence the
PhD program evaluation and decision
process and, thus, affect program enrollment. We selected 65 current logistics
PhD students from the seven traditional
programs (46% response rate) and both
current and past MBA students (730)
from three universities representing
both public and private institutions from
three different geographical areas (31%
response rate). We designed the MBA
survey to obtain information from (a)
MBA students currently considering a
PhD program in marketing or logistics
and (b) those who might consider entering such a program at some point in the
future.
Results
PhD Supply and Demand
In Table 3, we present the recent and
anticipated near future supply of logistics PhDs. We provide graduation totals
for the period 1998–2003. The figures
given for the period of 2004–05 are
based on numbers of students currently
enrolled in logistics PhD programs and
their projected graduation dates.
At the same time, demand for logistics PhDs has increased and ranges
between 15 and 20 PhDs each year.
Demand has increased progressively
since the late 1990s. Although supply
has increased, it has not kept pace with
demand. This situation has been caused
partly by logistics PhD programs’
inability to fill all available openings
because of enrollment shortfalls.
We asked respondents to indicate
which of the following factors might
explain the differential between desired
enrollment levels and actual enrollment
in logistics PhD programs: (a) a decline
in overall PhD program applications;
(b) the strength of the job market and
salary differential between industry and
academic positions; and (c) doctoral
program length. In the original survey,
respondents from the seven traditional
programs overwhelmingly stated that a
decline in overall PhD program applications was the main cause. This result
suggests that these programs are faced
with a smaller pool of candidates and
presumably a smaller number of desirable candidates. Three respondents
cited salary differential as the explana-
tion, and none felt that doctoral program
length was responsible for the shortfall.
More interesting, even if desired capacity had been reached during this period,
there would still be a shortage of candidates to fill the demand.
We should note that the near-future
representation is a “best case” scenario.
Although the enrollment of new students has increased slightly because of
the current state of the economy, traditional universities are still below capacity in the total number of students that
they could enroll in their programs. In
addition, we assume that all doctoral
candidates currently will complete their
degrees and pursue academic careers.
However, this is unlikely because of the
typical drop-out rate.
It is possible that the future supply
represented in Table 3 will be augmented
by doctoral students in related fields who
are positioning themselves for logistics
or supply-chain management openings.
Specifically, there may be an influx of
graduates from management and industrial engineering doctoral programs,
which have had links to logistics and
supply-chain management—although
typically with an operations research perspective. However, such departments
may expand their course offerings in
logistics and supply-chain management
and need additional faculty members.
Although we did not address this issue
specifically in this study, the anecdotal
evidence to date suggests that the
crossover is extremely limited.
Prospective PhD Student Viewpoint
PhD students cited professional goals
in academia (teaching and/or research)
or a corporate career as reasons for their
decision to pursue a PhD. Half of the
respondents had personal goals (e.g.,
the challenge and ego fulfillment, the
autonomy of the academic lifestyle) in
TABLE 3. Supply (Graduation Rates of Logistics PhDs)
1998
4
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2
7
10
6
6
10a
11a
a
Estimates are based on current enrollment and projected graduation dates.
September/October 2004
49
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addition to professional goals. Factors
motivating MBAs to inquire about a
PhD program include the need for intellectual stimulation, wanting to gain a
sense of accomplishment, and changing
careers to pursue an academic career.
When asked to provide reasons for not
considering a PhD program, an overwhelming majority of MBAs indicated
they had not considered a career in
academia. Other top reasons cited
included the length of PhD programs, a
lack of interest in the field of logistics,
and financial commitments. In addition,
some respondents did not perceive great
monetary value associated with a PhD
degree in the marketplace.
Once a student decides to pursue a
PhD, he or she must evaluate alternatives and determine to which programs
to apply, as well as which program to
attend. To identify how prospective students obtain the information needed to
evaluate logistics programs, we asked
PhD and MBA students (those currently
considering or who may consider a PhD
program) to rank various methods. The
results are summarized in Table 4.
Discussion
Our discussion begins with the following question: Who will teach the
future logistics and supply-chain students? In the short term, if the supply
pipeline cannot be filled, university programs likely will be forced to use
adjuncts, increase class sizes, increase
teaching loads of existing faculty members, trim the number of times that elective courses are offered in a given time
period, and consider alternative delivery
methods (e.g., courses on tape or alternative media). Ultimately, the shortage
of terminally qualified instructors can
be remedied only through the production and hiring of more PhDs. Therefore, although supply currently is fixed
and many new programs will compete
for these graduates in the near future,
one solution is to have existing PhD
programs increase their enrollments in
the logistics area.
To do this, one must acknowledge the
disconnect between programs and
prospective students, as indicated in our
results. When asked why shortfalls
occurred between actual and desired
enrollment in logistics PhD programs,
university respondents cited a drop-off in
applications as the main reason. A few
respondents indicated that salary differentials between industry and academic
positions were responsible, and no one
thought that program length was a factor.
From the potential student perspective (i.e., MBA respondents), most indicated that they were not interested in an
academic career. Admittedly, there
probably is little that doctoral programs
TABLE 4. Information Related to Identification and Selection of PhD
Programs
Obtaining information
PhDs
MBAs currently
considering a
PhD program
MBAs considering
a PhD program
in the future
50
Contact by university
faculty member
Department Web site
Faculty members from
former programs
Contact by university
faculty member
Department Web site
Course catalogs
Friends and family
members
University Web sites
Former professors
PhD guidebooks
Journal of Education for Business
Importance factors
Affecting where to apply
Campus visits
College ranking
Faculty reputation
Faculty–student relationships
Affecting where to apply
Faculty reputation
Faculty–student relationships
College ranking
Affecting final decision
Financial assistance
Program reputation
Location
Affecting where to apply
Faculty reputation
Faculty–student relationships
College ranking
can do to attract these individuals except
to educate MBA students and business
managers on the benefits and rewards of
the academic profession. The other top
reasons cited for not considering a logistics program included the length of PhD
programs and financial commitments.
These concerns mirror similar reasons
reported in education research. Given
these responses, it is clear that there is a
disconnect in programs addressing
potential students’ concerns. In other
words, the programs should practice
what they preach by providing a unique
value proposition and following through
with good customer service once students are enrolled.
In all likelihood, program length and
financial commitments are tied together
tightly. If one anticipates spending 4 or
5 years pursuing a doctorate, one must
forgo an industry salary for that length
of time and yet support oneself—and
possibly a family—during this period.
This can be a daunting consideration,
especially if a prospective student is not
fully aware of the salaries currently
being offered to PhD graduates in the
logistics field. Our results indicate that
a fair number of respondents do not
realize that there are comparable
salaries and benefits (e.g., independence, flexible work schedule, significant vacation opportunities, etc.) in the
logistics academic marketplace.
Thus, it would appear that both the
traditional and newer logistics doctoral
programs must be more proactive and
marketing focused in their efforts to
meet their recruitment and enrollment
objectives. Some scholars in the field of
higher education have long advocated
the importance of treating academic
institutions like businesses that are
responsive to meeting market demand
and to achieving customer satisfaction
(Liu, 1998).
Conclusion
Ultimately, to curb the stagnant trend
in enrollment in existing PhD programs
and to compete with savvy recruiting
practices of the corporate marketplace,
logistics and supply-chain doctoral programs would be wise to adopt a market
orientation. The starting point of a market orientation is market intelligence.
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:23 12 January 2016
Market intelligence includes information
about customer needs and preferences as
well as environmental factors that may
affect business performance, such as
technological innovations, competitor
moves, and economic trends. Although
the information provided in this study is
a good beginning, intelligence generation is not a one-time project. Rather, it
involves designing a process that systematically generates critical market
intelligence. For recruiting practices, it is
critical to build a system that not only
identifies prospective students but also
provides mechanisms for determining
their individual needs and preferences.
Moreover, logistics PhD programs face
direct competition from logistics programs at other universities as well as
indirect competition from other business
programs (e.g., operations management)
and the corporate sector. Therefore,
another important piece of market intelligence, competitor information, can be
gained by benchmarking.
Market intelligence must be communicated, disseminated, and perhaps even
sold to people across the organization so
that it can provide a shared basis for
concerted action. This is particularly
important for PhD recruiting processes
in which multiple departments within
the university (e.g., the graduate school,
admissions, financial aid, or the college
of business in addition to the logistics
department) establish lines of communication with prospective students.
Coordination among these functions is
essential for effective response to
prospective student needs. The typical
practice of assigning the responsibility
for coordinating PhD recruiting to a faculty member with little or no staff assistance further confounds this communication problem.
The aim of generating and disseminating market intelligence is to build a
system that is responsive to the marketplace. At the most elementary level,
responsiveness in recruiting practices
requires anticipating the information
needs of prospective students and providing timely replies to requests for such
information. Programs that adopt a market orientation should aim to be responsive not only in their communication
processes but also in adjusting their program offerings to meet customer expectations. If the downturn in PhD applications and the dropout rate from PhD
programs are indications that the PhD
program value propositions are weak, it
may be time for new approaches. As in
any value equation, the proposition can
be made more attractive by either lowering costs (e.g., decreasing time or money
spent) or raising benefits (e.g., increasing the student stipend).
Opportunities for Additional
Research
Future research in this area is needed
and should include an expansion of the
samples used in this study. Our study
investigated U.S. programs; much could
be learned from examining international
programs, which are very different in
timing and structure from those in the
United States. The supply–demand data
could be more comprehensive. Perhaps
logistics organizations or the AACSB
could assist researchers in obtaining
more complete information on these
important issues.
Another way to strengthen the results
obtained would be to supplement these
data with information from qualitative
interviews. We did not analyze the
recruiting processes at various institutions directly. Interviews could be conducted with program coordinators, and
recruiting materials could be collected
for content analysis. More insight could
be obtained through interviews with individuals who evaluated PhD programs
and/or who were recruited but chose not
to enter a program. Researchers could
survey recent doctoral graduates to determine their perceptions on specific
improvements that are needed in the
recruiting process. In addition to the supplemental information, an ongoing or
longitudinal study of the issue of supply
and demand of logistics scholars could
be conducted. This issue will continue to
affect the discipline; thus, we need to
give it our ongoing attention to solve the
problem of “Who will teach them?”
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to express appreciation to the
reviewers of this manuscript for their insightful
comments. We would also like to thank Donna F.
Davis and Teresa M. McCarthy for their assistance in data collection for the study.
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Cooper, M. C. (2003). Logistics academic hiring
survey (working paper). Columbus: Ohio State
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Dillman, D. A. (2000). Mail and Internet surveys:
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Evelyn, J. (1999). Corporate raiding. Black Issues
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51
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
And Who Will Teach Them? An Investigation of the
Logistics PhD Market
Susan L. Golicic , L. Michelle Bobbitt , Robert Frankel & Steven R. Clinton
To cite this article: Susan L. Golicic , L. Michelle Bobbitt , Robert Frankel & Steven R. Clinton
(2004) And Who Will Teach Them? An Investigation of the Logistics PhD Market, Journal of
Education for Business, 80:1, 47-51, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.80.1.47-51
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.80.1.47-51
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 22
View related articles
Citing articles: 1 View citing articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vjeb20
Download by: [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji]
Date: 12 January 2016, At: 22:23
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:23 12 January 2016
And Who Will Teach Them?
An Investigation of
the Logistics PhD Market
SUSAN L. GOLICIC
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
I
L. MICHELLE BOBBITT
ROBERT FRANKEL
Bradley University
University of North Florida
Peoria, Illinois
Jacksonville, Florida
n the early 1990s, doctoral students
in the disciplines of marketing and
logistics found themselves facing very
uncertain futures. The labor market for
newly minted PhDs was extremely
tight. In response, many doctoral programs that offered logistics degrees
sharply curtailed their enrollments.
However, immediately thereafter, the
industry began aggressively courting
both undergraduate and graduate students with degrees in logistics, materials management, and similar fields. In
response to this demand, new logistics
and supply-chain management programs were announced at several institutions (e.g., the University of
Louisville and the University of AlaskaAnchorage). In addition, position
announcements in marketing and management departments began to list logistics, distribution, or supply-chain management as desirable focus areas for
applicants.
The rise in demand now appears to
have outstripped supply. According to
our observations of the past several years,
a dearth of qualified applicants is available to fill the open positions. Equally
important, anecdotal information suggests that the situation is unlikely to
change anytime soon because of limited
logistics and supply-chain doctoral program enrollments. Our objectives in this
study were to (a) examine recent and pro-
ABSTRACT. At a time when there is
high demand for logistics/supplychain education at the undergraduate
and master’s levels, there is short supply of logistics PhDs to take faculty
positions. In this research, the authors
used both primary and secondary
research to confirm the gap between
supply and demand of logistics/
supply-chain scholars. Their study
draws attention to this salient issue and
offers suggestions as to how the discipline can monitor and manage the production of logistics/supply-chain PhDs
to bridge the supply and demand gap.
jected future demand to determine if a
supply–demand imbalance exists and if it
will continue into the future and (b)
examine factors affecting logistics doctoral program recruitment and enrollment
for correction of an imbalance.
Logistics Education Review
Logistics doctoral education in the
United States historically has been
dominated by a small number of “traditional” universities: Arizona State University, University of Arkansas, University of Maryland, Michigan State
University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Tennessee. At each of these
universities, the logistics area usually
has been part of a broader department—
most often in conjunction with marketing. This administrative structure
STEVEN R. CLINTON
University of New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
reflects the realities of a developing discipline: An extremely limited number of
logistics or transportation programs
existed before 1990.
In the late 1990s, industry interest in
logistics and supply-chain management,
combined with an expanding and robust
American economy, had companies
scouring campuses for new hires.
Although the recent economic slump
has dampened industry demand somewhat, the academic situation is not
expected to change soon, as undergraduate enrollment is expected to increase
approximately 20% to over 15 million
from 1998 to 2010 (U.S. Department of
Education, 2000). Over the past few
years, the number of Graduate Management Admission Tests (GMATs)—
required for a master’s or doctorate in
business—has leveled off to approximately 100,000 (Graduate Management
Admission Council, 2000); however,
the number of MBA degrees awarded
has skyrocketed to 97,000 (AACSB,
1999). Although these numbers represent the general business population,
one reasonably can project that these
trends apply to logistics and supplychain management.
In response to industry demand, a
number of American universities developed new logistics and supply-chain
management programs in the 1990s and
early 2000s (e.g., the University of
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Oklahoma, the University of Wisconsin,
Syracuse University, etc.). In addition,
many marketing and management
departments developed or increased
their course offerings in the area of
logistics and supply-chain management.
Given this increased interest, logistics
academics were suddenly in higher
demand. However, as most logistics
doctoral programs were severely
reduced in the mid-1990s—and with a
minimum lead time of 4 years—many
positions simply could not be filled.
In Table 1, data taken from the most
recent Council of Graduate Schools and
National Opinion Research Center
reports (2001) show the downward
trend of business doctoral degrees
awarded, particularly those in subfields
pertaining to logistics, from 1994–95 to
2000–01. This general slump in supply
was accompanied by an overall increase
in demand. For example, in 1998–99
there were 1.4 average openings per
doctoral graduate in AACSB member
schools; in 1999–2000 (assuming no
change in the number of degrees granted), this number increased to 2.1 (Graduate Management Admission Council,
2000). Although there were no specific
numbers identified for logistics, the
numbers for the departments typically
hiring logistics PhDs (marketing, operations management, and other) were 1.3
average openings per graduate in
1998–99 with an expected increase to
2.0 in 1999–2000.
The Logistics Academic Hiring Survey conducted annually by Ohio State
University (Cooper, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003) also reinforces the difference
between supply and demand with
respect to logistics PhDs. In Table 2, we
summarize the number of positions
open for entry-level faculty members
and the number of logistics graduates
entering the market. This difference
largely can be attributed to the demand
for faculty members with a specialty in
logistics at institutions such as Iowa
State University, Western Michigan
University, and The Naval Postgraduate
School—schools other than the “traditional” seven. Such universities contribute to the demand for, but not the
supply of, logistics scholars.
Why is the number of business PhDs
decreasing when the job market seems
TABLE 1. Business Doctoral Degrees Awarded
School yeara
Degrees awarded
Marketing, management,
operations, and other subfields
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
1,206
1,216
1,221
1,165
1,104
1,069
1,049
634
663
688
618
571
582
556
a
This reflects the most recent information currently available.
TABLE 2. Logistics Hiring Statistics
48
Year
Responding
universities
Assistant or open rank
positions available
Reported number of
logistics PhD graduates
2000
2001
2002
2003
17
18
20
20
16 at 13 universities
17 at 13 universities
19 at 17 universities
18 at 13 universities
3
6
6
4
Journal of Education for Business
so attractive? According to the education literature, the two primary factors
are time and money (Petr & Wendel,
1998). The cost of obtaining a PhD is
considerable owing to the long period
of time involved. This cost includes not
only out-of-pocket expenses but also
income that would have been earned
had the student remained employed
(U.S. Department of Education, 2000).
In addition to the financial costs, students sacrifice time otherwise spent
with family or in leisure pursuits and
postpone other goals in life to pursue a
doctoral degree (Fleming, 1998–99).
Although most programs defray the
tuition costs, prospective students also
must consider costs of living for themselves and often for other family members. This factor plays such a large role
that it not only affects the choice of
institution; it also may reverse the decision to attend at all. Even if a student is
recruited successfully and begins a PhD
program, there is no guarantee that he
or she will remain in the program,
because of its difficulty and the student’s possibly incomplete understanding of what the program requires or
what she or he will face in undertaking
it. Nationwide, the voluntary dropout
rate for all doctoral students is 25%
(Evelyn, 1999).
What does the future hold? Despite
the recent economic slump, the
demand for logistics undergraduate
and master’s degrees should remain
relatively strong (U.S. Department of
Education, 2000; Graduate Management Admission Council, 2000).
Logistics programs continue to search
for new faculty members to staff both
(a) existing traditional programs that
continue to operate at capacity and (b)
new logistics and supply-chain management programs. This situation leads
to an interesting problem in academia:
Who will teach these students whom
industry so strongly desires? Doctoral
programs do not appear to have sufficient candidates in process to fill
immediate demand. In response to this
situation, a number of doctoral programs have tried to gear up to meet this
sudden demand but have discovered
another problem: a lack of increase in
the number of applicants to fill the doctoral program openings.
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Method
Given that no single academic
resource monitors the complete supply
and demand process with regard to
logistics and supply-chain management
doctoral programs, we used both primary and secondary data sources to
assess supply and demand as well as
factors affecting recruitment and
enrollment. In February 2001, we sent
one survey, which followed Dillman’s
(2000) total design method, to the
directors of the doctoral programs at
the seven traditional programs as well
as to the directors of 19 other programs
that do not offer a logistics degree but
support student research in this area. To
obtain updated graduation and hiring
numbers, we conducted a follow-up
with the seven traditional programs in
fall 2002. We asked respondents to provide us with the following information:
• Number of doctoral students in the
program and capacity of students that
could be accommodated in the program.
• Number of students graduating and
seeking full-time academic positions.
• Departmental hiring plans for
logistics faculty members over the following 3 years.
To evaluate demand, we examined faculty position announcements from three
sources (the Chronicle of Higher Education, the American Marketing Association summer conference job search database, and the marketing listserv “elmar”)
during summer 2001. The numbers and
frequency of announcements represent
demand within traditional marketing
departments for PhD graduates with an
emphasis in logistics or supply-chain
management.
In 2001, we developed and sent two
additional surveys (following the same
research design) to gain insight into the
numerous factors that may influence the
PhD program evaluation and decision
process and, thus, affect program enrollment. We selected 65 current logistics
PhD students from the seven traditional
programs (46% response rate) and both
current and past MBA students (730)
from three universities representing
both public and private institutions from
three different geographical areas (31%
response rate). We designed the MBA
survey to obtain information from (a)
MBA students currently considering a
PhD program in marketing or logistics
and (b) those who might consider entering such a program at some point in the
future.
Results
PhD Supply and Demand
In Table 3, we present the recent and
anticipated near future supply of logistics PhDs. We provide graduation totals
for the period 1998–2003. The figures
given for the period of 2004–05 are
based on numbers of students currently
enrolled in logistics PhD programs and
their projected graduation dates.
At the same time, demand for logistics PhDs has increased and ranges
between 15 and 20 PhDs each year.
Demand has increased progressively
since the late 1990s. Although supply
has increased, it has not kept pace with
demand. This situation has been caused
partly by logistics PhD programs’
inability to fill all available openings
because of enrollment shortfalls.
We asked respondents to indicate
which of the following factors might
explain the differential between desired
enrollment levels and actual enrollment
in logistics PhD programs: (a) a decline
in overall PhD program applications;
(b) the strength of the job market and
salary differential between industry and
academic positions; and (c) doctoral
program length. In the original survey,
respondents from the seven traditional
programs overwhelmingly stated that a
decline in overall PhD program applications was the main cause. This result
suggests that these programs are faced
with a smaller pool of candidates and
presumably a smaller number of desirable candidates. Three respondents
cited salary differential as the explana-
tion, and none felt that doctoral program
length was responsible for the shortfall.
More interesting, even if desired capacity had been reached during this period,
there would still be a shortage of candidates to fill the demand.
We should note that the near-future
representation is a “best case” scenario.
Although the enrollment of new students has increased slightly because of
the current state of the economy, traditional universities are still below capacity in the total number of students that
they could enroll in their programs. In
addition, we assume that all doctoral
candidates currently will complete their
degrees and pursue academic careers.
However, this is unlikely because of the
typical drop-out rate.
It is possible that the future supply
represented in Table 3 will be augmented
by doctoral students in related fields who
are positioning themselves for logistics
or supply-chain management openings.
Specifically, there may be an influx of
graduates from management and industrial engineering doctoral programs,
which have had links to logistics and
supply-chain management—although
typically with an operations research perspective. However, such departments
may expand their course offerings in
logistics and supply-chain management
and need additional faculty members.
Although we did not address this issue
specifically in this study, the anecdotal
evidence to date suggests that the
crossover is extremely limited.
Prospective PhD Student Viewpoint
PhD students cited professional goals
in academia (teaching and/or research)
or a corporate career as reasons for their
decision to pursue a PhD. Half of the
respondents had personal goals (e.g.,
the challenge and ego fulfillment, the
autonomy of the academic lifestyle) in
TABLE 3. Supply (Graduation Rates of Logistics PhDs)
1998
4
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2
7
10
6
6
10a
11a
a
Estimates are based on current enrollment and projected graduation dates.
September/October 2004
49
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addition to professional goals. Factors
motivating MBAs to inquire about a
PhD program include the need for intellectual stimulation, wanting to gain a
sense of accomplishment, and changing
careers to pursue an academic career.
When asked to provide reasons for not
considering a PhD program, an overwhelming majority of MBAs indicated
they had not considered a career in
academia. Other top reasons cited
included the length of PhD programs, a
lack of interest in the field of logistics,
and financial commitments. In addition,
some respondents did not perceive great
monetary value associated with a PhD
degree in the marketplace.
Once a student decides to pursue a
PhD, he or she must evaluate alternatives and determine to which programs
to apply, as well as which program to
attend. To identify how prospective students obtain the information needed to
evaluate logistics programs, we asked
PhD and MBA students (those currently
considering or who may consider a PhD
program) to rank various methods. The
results are summarized in Table 4.
Discussion
Our discussion begins with the following question: Who will teach the
future logistics and supply-chain students? In the short term, if the supply
pipeline cannot be filled, university programs likely will be forced to use
adjuncts, increase class sizes, increase
teaching loads of existing faculty members, trim the number of times that elective courses are offered in a given time
period, and consider alternative delivery
methods (e.g., courses on tape or alternative media). Ultimately, the shortage
of terminally qualified instructors can
be remedied only through the production and hiring of more PhDs. Therefore, although supply currently is fixed
and many new programs will compete
for these graduates in the near future,
one solution is to have existing PhD
programs increase their enrollments in
the logistics area.
To do this, one must acknowledge the
disconnect between programs and
prospective students, as indicated in our
results. When asked why shortfalls
occurred between actual and desired
enrollment in logistics PhD programs,
university respondents cited a drop-off in
applications as the main reason. A few
respondents indicated that salary differentials between industry and academic
positions were responsible, and no one
thought that program length was a factor.
From the potential student perspective (i.e., MBA respondents), most indicated that they were not interested in an
academic career. Admittedly, there
probably is little that doctoral programs
TABLE 4. Information Related to Identification and Selection of PhD
Programs
Obtaining information
PhDs
MBAs currently
considering a
PhD program
MBAs considering
a PhD program
in the future
50
Contact by university
faculty member
Department Web site
Faculty members from
former programs
Contact by university
faculty member
Department Web site
Course catalogs
Friends and family
members
University Web sites
Former professors
PhD guidebooks
Journal of Education for Business
Importance factors
Affecting where to apply
Campus visits
College ranking
Faculty reputation
Faculty–student relationships
Affecting where to apply
Faculty reputation
Faculty–student relationships
College ranking
Affecting final decision
Financial assistance
Program reputation
Location
Affecting where to apply
Faculty reputation
Faculty–student relationships
College ranking
can do to attract these individuals except
to educate MBA students and business
managers on the benefits and rewards of
the academic profession. The other top
reasons cited for not considering a logistics program included the length of PhD
programs and financial commitments.
These concerns mirror similar reasons
reported in education research. Given
these responses, it is clear that there is a
disconnect in programs addressing
potential students’ concerns. In other
words, the programs should practice
what they preach by providing a unique
value proposition and following through
with good customer service once students are enrolled.
In all likelihood, program length and
financial commitments are tied together
tightly. If one anticipates spending 4 or
5 years pursuing a doctorate, one must
forgo an industry salary for that length
of time and yet support oneself—and
possibly a family—during this period.
This can be a daunting consideration,
especially if a prospective student is not
fully aware of the salaries currently
being offered to PhD graduates in the
logistics field. Our results indicate that
a fair number of respondents do not
realize that there are comparable
salaries and benefits (e.g., independence, flexible work schedule, significant vacation opportunities, etc.) in the
logistics academic marketplace.
Thus, it would appear that both the
traditional and newer logistics doctoral
programs must be more proactive and
marketing focused in their efforts to
meet their recruitment and enrollment
objectives. Some scholars in the field of
higher education have long advocated
the importance of treating academic
institutions like businesses that are
responsive to meeting market demand
and to achieving customer satisfaction
(Liu, 1998).
Conclusion
Ultimately, to curb the stagnant trend
in enrollment in existing PhD programs
and to compete with savvy recruiting
practices of the corporate marketplace,
logistics and supply-chain doctoral programs would be wise to adopt a market
orientation. The starting point of a market orientation is market intelligence.
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Market intelligence includes information
about customer needs and preferences as
well as environmental factors that may
affect business performance, such as
technological innovations, competitor
moves, and economic trends. Although
the information provided in this study is
a good beginning, intelligence generation is not a one-time project. Rather, it
involves designing a process that systematically generates critical market
intelligence. For recruiting practices, it is
critical to build a system that not only
identifies prospective students but also
provides mechanisms for determining
their individual needs and preferences.
Moreover, logistics PhD programs face
direct competition from logistics programs at other universities as well as
indirect competition from other business
programs (e.g., operations management)
and the corporate sector. Therefore,
another important piece of market intelligence, competitor information, can be
gained by benchmarking.
Market intelligence must be communicated, disseminated, and perhaps even
sold to people across the organization so
that it can provide a shared basis for
concerted action. This is particularly
important for PhD recruiting processes
in which multiple departments within
the university (e.g., the graduate school,
admissions, financial aid, or the college
of business in addition to the logistics
department) establish lines of communication with prospective students.
Coordination among these functions is
essential for effective response to
prospective student needs. The typical
practice of assigning the responsibility
for coordinating PhD recruiting to a faculty member with little or no staff assistance further confounds this communication problem.
The aim of generating and disseminating market intelligence is to build a
system that is responsive to the marketplace. At the most elementary level,
responsiveness in recruiting practices
requires anticipating the information
needs of prospective students and providing timely replies to requests for such
information. Programs that adopt a market orientation should aim to be responsive not only in their communication
processes but also in adjusting their program offerings to meet customer expectations. If the downturn in PhD applications and the dropout rate from PhD
programs are indications that the PhD
program value propositions are weak, it
may be time for new approaches. As in
any value equation, the proposition can
be made more attractive by either lowering costs (e.g., decreasing time or money
spent) or raising benefits (e.g., increasing the student stipend).
Opportunities for Additional
Research
Future research in this area is needed
and should include an expansion of the
samples used in this study. Our study
investigated U.S. programs; much could
be learned from examining international
programs, which are very different in
timing and structure from those in the
United States. The supply–demand data
could be more comprehensive. Perhaps
logistics organizations or the AACSB
could assist researchers in obtaining
more complete information on these
important issues.
Another way to strengthen the results
obtained would be to supplement these
data with information from qualitative
interviews. We did not analyze the
recruiting processes at various institutions directly. Interviews could be conducted with program coordinators, and
recruiting materials could be collected
for content analysis. More insight could
be obtained through interviews with individuals who evaluated PhD programs
and/or who were recruited but chose not
to enter a program. Researchers could
survey recent doctoral graduates to determine their perceptions on specific
improvements that are needed in the
recruiting process. In addition to the supplemental information, an ongoing or
longitudinal study of the issue of supply
and demand of logistics scholars could
be conducted. This issue will continue to
affect the discipline; thus, we need to
give it our ongoing attention to solve the
problem of “Who will teach them?”
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to express appreciation to the
reviewers of this manuscript for their insightful
comments. We would also like to thank Donna F.
Davis and Teresa M. McCarthy for their assistance in data collection for the study.
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