ReseaRch Quality assuRance foR the futuRe a ... - Lund University

Panel 15 – LTH | product development
4.2 Research Infrastructure Not graded
Lack of available information made it impossible to make a reliable
evaluation. The department is the outcome of two merged divisions in
2001, having different research methods and belong to different research
communities: the PM Division which mainly builds on purely theoretical
models in the tradition of Optimization; the EL Division which
was more oriented towards grounded management research (strategies,
processes, risks, value) with a small engineering component. In the
Department EL and PM are still two separate Divisions with separate
research areas that have collaborations and share infrastructure. Due to
considerable revenues from teaching in teaching, the Department is less
dependent on external funding than other Departments of LTH.
4.3 Research Quality Very good (4)
Due to the diverse nature of research activity of the two divisions separate
evaluation are reported. It is noteworthy that the Department of
Industrial Management and Logistics, was among the few, if not the only
Department in LTH that had increased revenue in 2007, per academic
staff, in both teaching and R&D over it’s 2003 level, and still had a
negative total revenue in 2007. It’s external R&D revenue in 2007, per
staff, increased by 35% over 2003. However EU funding was almost half
in 2007 as compared to 2006 level.
4.3.1 Quality Very good (4)
Both Divisions have publications in the best journals (top 10) in their
discipline. However, it should be noted that logistics and production
management journals are not highly ranked compared to other fields. PM
Division (publishing in Operations Research, Management Science) has
developed a leading position in the special field of optimization methods
for multi-echelon inventory policies and systems. While the EL Division
(publishing in Int. J of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, J
of Business Logistics) has contributed to a large scope of contemporary
research issues in the field of logistics. Unfortunately publication contribution
is limited to a few individuals. To achieve excellence this trend
need to be rectified.
4.3.2 Productivity Very good (4)
Publications: From 2002 to 2007 (6 years) the department published 31
articles in refereed journals. During the same period, the average number
437