Walton College Research Professor Honored by North American Case Research Association

University Relations

David Graham Hyatt

A research associate professor of supply chain management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business has been honored by the North American Case Research Association for his collaboration with an Arkansas company, Delta Plastics, to produce a written case study on the introduction of a new product.

David Graham Hyatt created the teaching case, "Delta Plastics of the South: Conserving Water in the Delta," and the accompanying instructor's manual after conducting interviews with company leadership and after an honors colloquium project during fall 2015. The case was previously recognized by the association as among the best cases presented at its annual conference. At this year's conference, held in Orlando, Florida, in October, Hyatt was recognized as runner-up for the Curtis E. Tate Award, given to the author of the best case published in the Case Research Journal during 2017. That is the leading academic journal for cases in business and related disciplines in North America. Since its publication in 2017, the case has been adopted for classroom use 158 times.

The case concerns the introduction of Pipe Planner, a product that helps farmers by efficiently calculating the hole sizes in plastic irrigation pipe widely used in the delta regions of Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi and Louisiana. Use of the product would lower farmers' irrigation costs and lessen the water draw on the shrinking Mississippi Alluvial Aquifer, which provides most of the water for irrigation in the delta.

The project, which is ongoing, was made possible by support from the Walton College Worthen Case Fund and a grant from the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center.