Department of Supply Chain Management Among World's Most Published

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Faculty members in the newly created department of supply chain management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business are already ranked among the most published in supply chain management and logistics journals. The University of Arkansas ranked No. 4 in a recent study published by the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management — the university’s best showing in the study’s 45-year history.

The rankings focused on the six leading journals in the supply chain management and logistics field for articles published between 2008 and 2010. The researchers used a point system that awarded institutions one point for an article with one author, 0.5 points for an article with two authors, 0.33 points for articles with three authors, and so forth.

In the study, the University of Arkansas earned 11 points, trailing only the University of Tennessee (15.58 points), the University of Maryland (12.33) and Arizona State University (11.93).

“Being highly published in these journals increases the ranking of our department and Walton College,” said Matthew Waller, chair of the department of supply chain management and holder of the Garrison Endowed Chair in Supply Chain Management. “And it attracts top-notch professors from other universities, helping our recruiting.”  

The process of getting published in a prominent journal is often long and difficult. After an author spends years researching and writing an article, it is submitted to an editor-in-chief who either accepts or rejects it for publication. If it is not rejected, the article is then sent — anonymously — to several professors around the world for evaluation and critiquing.

“A manuscript can go through several rounds of this before it is ultimately accepted or rejected,” Waller said. “If it is ever accepted, then it gets queued up for publication in an issue of the journal, which can be months to years before it is in print.”

Of the top 25 most-published schools from 2008-2010, 14 institutions are located in North America and 11 overseas. Schools in England, Scotland, Wales, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, Denmark, Sweden and Germany were represented on the list. Cranfield University in Oxfordshire, England, ranked No. 6 and was the top-ranked non-North American institution.