Article ID: | iaor19992732 |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Volume: | 49 |
Issue: | 4 |
Start Page Number: | 381 |
End Page Number: | 391 |
Publication Date: | Apr 1998 |
Journal: | Journal of the Operational Research Society |
Authors: | Bell P.C. |
Operational researchers have been slow to define and claim a strategic role for operational research (OR). This article discusses the OR activities of a number of leading-edge organisations, and argues that in several instances these activities have sustained a competitive advantage over a significant period of time, and are seen as a ‘strategic asset’ to the parent corporation. Finally, it is argued that OR people should begin talking about OR as a strategic asset, and that recognition of this strategic role provides a vision of a very exciting future for OR.