Design science in operations management: A review and synthesis of the literature

Abstract

The application of design science (DS) in the field of operations management (OM) is believed to be lopsided, with most studies pursuing theory‐to‐practice rather than practice‐to‐theory applications of DS. However, this belief has remained untested at the level of the entire body of DS applications in OM. This paper therefore reviews and synthesises 66 peer‐reviewed DS‐based publications (2003–2024) and presents a novel configurational framework. We analyse the DS applications through the lens of this framework to conclude that most of these applications contribute incrementally to extant theories but make a rather revelatory contribution to practice. This analysis points at four main reasons: DS is still an emerging research methodology, which is not labelled as such in many applications; OM researchers often assume that problem‐solving is the primary purpose of DS, which inhibits the delivery of more theoretical research outcomes; the lack of methodological guidelines to support the transition from specific to generalised knowledge; and the rather fragmented body of knowledge on DS, which is dispersed across multiple sources and different domains. This paper offers a configurational framework for DS to guide OM scholars in their efforts to explore scientific discoveries beyond problem‐solving.