In Search of Strategic Operations Research/Management Science

We define strategic OR/MS as “OR/MS work that leads to a sustainable competitive advantage.” We found evidence of strategic OR/MS in the literature of strategic information systems (SIS) and OR/MS. We examined 30 early examples of SIS, many of which contained OR/MS work. Many of the most successful had high OR/MS content, while the least successful contained none. The inclusion of OR/MS work may be a key to sustaining an advantage from information technology. We also examined the Edelman Prize finalist articles published between 1990 and 1999. We found that 13 of the 42 private sector applications meet our definition of strategic OR/MS.