Is Implementation Research Relevant for the OR/MS Practitioner?

The last decade has seen an increasing awareness of and concern for the problems associated with the successful implementation of OR/MS methods. This growing awareness has produced two results in the “publishing sector” of the OR/MS profession. With some trepidation [White, Charles H. 1977. Applications publication: An experience. Interfaces7 (August) 125–126.], practitioners of OR/MS have started to publish the results of actual OR/MS projects. The value of these reports for increasing the chance of more successful implementations of OR/MS efforts is summarized in [Woolsey, Gene. 1976. A triennial editorial policy. Interfaces6 (August) 3–4.].

This article is designed: (1) to examine the relevancy of OR/MS implementation research for practicing OR/MS managers, and (2) to provide some guidelines for improving this relevancy.