Achieving Research Design Excellence Through the Pursuit of Perfection: Toward Strong Theoretical Calibration

Supply chain research has become increasingly theory†driven, research designs have become more rigorous, and analytical methods have grown in depth and breadth. Given this important and positive progression, we believe that it is time for scholars to abandon a popular data collection method—single†source surveys—due to its inherent limitations. In the past, single†source surveys have fueled important steps forward in knowledge development, but the field has progressed to the point that stronger designs are needed. Rather than attacking past research grounded in single†source surveys (including our own) or offering stop†gap advice (e.g., get more respondents), we offer a more constructive path forward—scholars should let their theory drive their designs. Specifically, we propose the concept of theoretical calibration—the degree to which the key tenets of a study's theory are captured within its research design—and describe four approaches that scholars can take to increase theoretical calibration. Our hope is that, in the future, surveys will remain one important method among many that can be used to build knowledge and inform managers, but that journal gatekeepers will judge designs that rely on single†source surveys alone to no longer be sufficient.