A Social Anthropology of Logistics Research: Exploring Productivity and Collaboration in an Emerging Science

Abstract

Abstract For more than forty years, professionals and academics have undertaken scholarly research in the field of logistics, attempting to expand the knowledge base of the discipline, and thereby improve logistics practice. This study represents an initial investigation of logistics researchers who have participated in the development of the field. Using a comprehensive database of published logistics articles from four leading journals, social network theory is applied for analysis of logistics researcher productivity and collaboration. Results of the exploratory study indicate that high levels of researcher productivity are present in logistics; however, the results also show that the discipline would benefit significantly from more collaborative effort blending researcher backgrounds and perspectives across major research groups, which are currently somewhat isolated. Implications for future logistics research are discussed, advocating more collaborative research production within the field.