The Theory of Constraints in Academia: It's Evolution, Influence, Controversies, and Lessons

Abstract

The ‗Theory of Constraints‘ (TOC)—more appropriately described as Management by Constraints (MBC)—is a case of a development that has raised an interesting debate in the field of Operations Management. Points of debate include how much of TOC is a ‗refocus‘, how effective it has been, and how it relates and compares to other developments in Operations Management. In this paper, we focus on what lessons academics may learn about disseminating controversial developments from the debate that has accompanied TOC. With the tremendous information explosion, we may see more such controversial developments. Therefore examining the case of TOC may help academics, the people who are expected to play an important role in dissemination, to deal with similar developments in the future, in a balanced and critical manner.