Sloan Industry Studies

Industry Studies
Committee

Sloan Industry
Studies Affiliates

Sloan Industry
Studies Fellowships

Seminar Grants

The Trucking Industry Program is part of a network of Sloan Industry Centers that forms the core of large and growing professional association dedicated to research that addresses some of the most critical issues facing industry today. The Sloan Centers attract scholars from a number of disciplines, including economics, engineering, business administration, operations research, and labor relations. Their goal is to promote research cooperation between academics and industry in order to better understand the complex influences that shape industrial enterprises. Sloan Industry Centers encourage research that is based on a deep understanding of the institutions and markets that shape our modern competitive environment—research that is informed by primary data and observation based on direct interaction with people in their workplaces.

The community of scholars that is developing around Sloan Industry Centers includes faculty members from the Centers, their students who have gone on to faculty positions of their own, and a large network of like-minded scholars who have no direct connection with a Sloan Center but share similar research goals and methodologies. Recognizing the importance of helping to build this larger community, the Sloan Industry Studies program promotes activities that encourage linkages among scholars and between scholars and industry. Sloan Industry Centers are the core of this program, and the program's related research activities build from this vital base.

The Industry Studies Committee was established by the Sloan Foundation to promote industry studies as a multidisciplinary research community. The Committee members are Frank Giarratani (University of Pittsburgh), who currently serves as the committee's coordinator, Diran Apelian (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), Susan Helper (Case Western Reserve), Ken Kraemer (UC Irvine), and Richard Lester (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Two Sloan Program officers, Gail Pesyna and Frank Mayadas, serve as ex-officio members. The Committee is appointed by the Sloan Foundation to promote activities that strengthen the Sloan Industry Centers and help to build the professional association that is developing around these Centers.

Affiliates of the Sloan Industry Studies program are drawn from faculty members, research staff, and post-docs working in a wide range of academic disciplines and industry specializations. Participation is encouraged by any scholar who seeks to ground his or her research in a deep knowledge of particular industries through field research and direct contact with people in the industry. Communication within the Sloan Industry Studies program is facilitated by the network's listserv, and Affiliate status is necessary for membership in the listserv. In addition to serving as a forum for ideas and discussion, the listserv helps to provide notification of workshops and other research opportunities, meetings, and special events that may be organized by any of the Sloan Industry Centers. If you would like to participate in this program, click here for a program description and information about the nomination process.

The Sloan Foundation has established a fellowship program to recognize outstanding industry studies scholars who are in the early stage of their academic careers. This program is modeled after the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships for young scientists. It is open to faculty members from a variety of academic disciplines who are conducting field-based research on a topic important to a specific industry. Successful candidates are not bound to pursue any particular direction of inquiry; rather, they are committed to build working relationships with a chosen industry in order to pursue field-based research.

To learn more about these fellowships and the nomination process, click here.

A Workshop Series has been established to promote communication within the Sloan Industry Studies association. The workshops further research on topics that cut across industries or otherwise advance scholarship in Industry Studies. The program is very flexible, and Sloan Industry Studies members are encouraged to develop workshops based on the community's wide range of interests. Workshops in the series have several common characteristics: (1) they draw widely on the expertise of the association, (2) they are goal oriented, and (3) they encourage communication among participants before and during the workshop. View a more detailed description of this program.

Seminar grants are now available to promote the dissemination of research findings among Center Faculty and Industry Studies Affiliates. The funds available in this program are targeted especially to promote career development. With this in mind, proposals from Assistant Professors in the tenure stream and from Associate Professors who have earned tenure are especially encouraged. Similarly, proposals would be very welcome from senior scholars who agree to invite junior colleagues to present papers in their department, school, or research center. Click here to learn more about this program.

Travel grants are now being offered to Industry Studies Affiliates and Center faculty. Like the industry studies working paper series, workshops, and book promotion initiatives, Industry Studies travel grants are designed to promote awareness of the community's common interests and to support scholarship. Travel grants are available in two categories: 1) for travel to the university of another Affiliate or Sloan Industry Center in order to present a seminar, or for purposes of collaboration on research, teaching, or Center development and 2) for organizing and conducting panels at professional society meetings, where the proposed panel would be made up of several Industry Studies Affiliates and Center faculty. To find out more about this program and how to apply for a travel grant, click here.

This program provides grants to enhance promotional support for books that exemplify scholarly research in industry studies. Funding is available to augment the normal promotional efforts expected from the book's publisher. These grants may be used to support a variety of communications and outreach activities designed to raise awareness of the book and its message. Books published within the last year and/or books soon to be published are eligible. Applications are accepted year-round. Click here to learn more about this program.

Sloan Industry Studies Working Papers represent some of the most recent research by scholars affiliated with the Sloan Industry Studies program. The papers are drawn from invited presentations made by the authors at the program's annual meetings. A list of working papers is available at http://www.industry.sloan.org/industrystudies/workingpapers/, where you may download abstracts for all papers. Copies of the papers also are available by request free of charge.