16 March 2007
Approaches for Knowledge and Application Creation in Logistics – An Empirical Analysis Based on Finnish and Swedish Doctoral Dissertations Published Between 1994 and 2003 by Dimitrios Vafidis, Licentiate of Economic Sciences, shall be examined at Turku School of Economics on Friday, 23 March 2007. This doctoral thesis is geared to the use of logistics as a discipline and is excellently suited for application as a tool in researcher training.
Logistics is a young scientific field, by reason of which its use of methodological approaches and methods has not yet stabilized. Starting researchers in particular have been obliged to make methodological and technique-related choices in an uncertain manner with respect to how these suit the purpose of the research, the research target and the researcher’s own goals. Additionally, the research community’s limits as imposed respective to the distinctive features of an approved study are unclear.
”The purpose of my thesis study is to promote the research of logistics by improving the understanding of the reasons for and consequences of research-related methodological choices. In this respect, beginning researchers can, via the social network linked with their own goals and research, consider the appropriate approach,” Dimitrios Vafidis states.
Concepts explained
Vafidis’ study can be regarded as a manual for the logistics researcher. The various sectors of the research process as well as their significance for research and the researcher have been conceptualised and analysed in this doctoral thesis. From the perspective of logistics research, the pivotal concepts with regard to its scientific philosophy and methodology that the starting research frequently reacts to as challenging have been condensed in the study.
The study has been directed towards its use by the scientific field, and it is appropriate for use in, e.g., researcher training courses. There are also applications for the terms developed in the steering of, for example, specialist organizations as well as in analysis conducted by other social sciences, even if Vafidis does not delve into these applications in his study.
Research field split
The current status of the logistics research field is analysed in this thesis in addition to possible development trends for research. Vigorous discussion has gone on with regard to this subject, particularly in Nordic seminars in the field, in which the need for a Nordic research identity is frequently emphasized, while its instability is also stressed at the same time.
”The orientation of the study to either serve academic purposes or the aspiration to develop practical applications is the most important factor dividing logistics as a scientific field,” Vafidis emphasizes. ”Its impacts on the preparation of research should be taken into account more effectively than at present, so that it’s possible to ensure the research quality as well as the fulfilment of the researcher’s own goals.”
The empirical reality of the study rests on the analysis of 54 doctoral theses in the logistics field, published in Finland and Sweden. The analysis methods are both qualitative and statistical.
The doctoral thesis can be read at:
http://info.tse.fi/julkaisut/vk/Ae3_2007.pdf
Additional information:
Dimitrios Vafidis
dimitrios.vafidis(a)kone.com