Management faculty chosen for journal

By Sun Min

Professor Arlyn Melcher and Associate Professor Michael Michalisin

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Research conducted by scholars at Southern Illinois University Carbondale College of Business was profiled in Decision Sciences, a premier journal of the Decision Sciences Institute. The publication highlights scholarly research about decisions involving inter-firm coordination as well as decision-making within the boundaries of an organization.

Associate Professor of Management Michael D. Michalisin, Professor of Management Arlyn J. Melcher and management alumnus Chanchai Tangpong authored “Toward a Typology of Buyer-Supplier Relationships: A Study of the Computer Industry” which appeared in Decision Sciences’ special issue on “New Perspectives on Sourcing Decisions.”

“Because Decision Sciences is a highly prestigious journal and this special issue addresses a very high profile topic, we feel very honored to be one of only ten papers published in this issue,” said Michalisin.

Michalisin believes their research has important implications for academics and practitioners. The study highlighted the important role of supplier dependence in moderating the efficiency and innovation effects of buyer-supplier relationalism, thus providing a reconciliatory lens for looking at the mixed findings of previous relationalism-performance research.

“This research is also highly relevant to managers,” said Michalisin. “As various key activities reside outside firms’ boundary, coordinating and managing relationships with external suppliers becomes an increasingly important issue to practicing managers.”

Michalisin won the SIUC "Excellence Through Commitment" award earlier this year. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1985 from The Pennsylvania State University, his master of business administration in 1992 from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and his doctorate in 1996 from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. He is also a certified public accountant.

Melcher earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of California, Los Angeles. He received a doctorate from University of Chicago. From 1989 to 1995, Melcher served as chair of the Department of Management.

Tangpong earned an MBA and doctoral degree in management from SIUC. He is an assistant professor of management at the College of Business, North Dakota State University.