Design science research in operations management: is there a single type?

Abstract

Although many authors claimed that Design Science Research (DSR) could bring new insights to Operations Management (OM), this research method is still little used in OM studies. Aiming to present the main characteristics of DSR studies in the OM field, this study starts by conducting a systematic literature review of DSR studies published between 2013 and 2022. We identify that although DSR studies have increased in quantity and quality during this period, they remain concentrated in a few journals, authors and countries. DSR remains still under development in OM, and with a significant influence of the case study research method. Furthermore, we also propose that there is not just one type of DSR in OM, but two. The first type is practitioner-focused and highlights the empirical contributions and the results. The second is academy-focused and emphasises the methodology development and the understanding of how the results were generated. As those two types aim for different audiences, we believe that they will coexist in the future.