Dear friends:

As researchers, Carson College PhD students are tasked with creating new knowledge, and one of the most important skills they acquire is the ability to select an appropriate research topic. The topic should be innovative enough to represent a meaningful contribution to existing literature. In fact, perhaps the primary reason submitted research papers are rejected at top journals is “insufficient contribution to the literature.” In other words, even if the methodology is sound and the writing is clear, editorial teams always ask, “How will the results help business managers make decisions?”

We start by asking our graduate students to explore existing research to see what has already been studied. From there, they look for opportunities to ask new questions and contribute fresh insights. There are a few common approaches. For example, they might combine two different models into a single, more comprehensive one. They might test whether a solution still works under a range of conditions. They could also take a study that is focused on one company, country, or demographic and expand it to others—or loosen some of the assumptions to make the findings more widely applicable. In some cases, they can work on simplifying complex models so they’re easier for managers to use in the real world.

Of course, as business trends emerge, innovative researchers strive to study them. Examples include the impact of tariffs, the use of blockchain technology in supply chains, and the use of AI in the workplace. With an increase in natural disasters, supply chain risk has recently received increased research attention. After COVID and with the advancement of video conferencing capabilities, many jobs can now be done remotely, and researchers are studying the impact of that trend—from productivity to worker wellbeing to how offices emptied by the shift to remote work are affecting local economies.

Nowadays, our profession is grappling with how to establish rules regarding the use of AI in research. For example, should researchers be allowed to have AI generate research topics or write a literature review? At present, researchers are reporting that AI often provides citations to articles that do not exist. We also have no way of knowing if topics recommended by AI would have already been studied or not. Thus, researchers should verify any AI-generated material that they plan to use in their articles, as they are ultimately responsible for any words appearing in their papers. Journals have begun to provide AI guidelines that include disclosure recommendations.

Despite thousands of new articles being published every year, plenty of unresolved business questions remain, particularly in the realm of emerging technology. We challenge our PhD students to identify these and provide effective solutions. The most successful researchers tend to have the most innovative research topics.

Chuck Munson, PhD Program Director