Perhaps we are a bit less patient with esoteric research that has no possible connection to managerial decision making. The ultimate goal is doing research that scores highly on both rigor and realism. Our research should be rigorous, and yet the problems that we choose to study should demonstrate relevance. As one of the Board representatives, it has been enlightening to have attended the annual meeting of most of the Institute's regions. These meetings offer many valuable competitive paper sessions, staged in a very professional manner.
Attendance remains excellent, despite difficult economic conditions.
In fact, tight budgets might very well work in favor of DSI regions. There is at least one regional meeting that is nearby, reducing travel time and cost. Regional events, such as the new Graduate Student Workshops, make it possible for doctoral students in the pre-dissertation stage to attend an academic meeting and get some better understanding of academic life, without bankrupting their department's operating fund. The Institute's regions soon will span the world instead of just the United States. The Institute has just experienced its Second International Conference in Seoul, Korea.