Call for Submissions
2026 INFORMS TIMES Doctoral Dissertation Competition
The INFORMS Technology, Innovation Management, and Entrepreneurship Section (TIMES) invites submissions to its 2026 INFORMS TIMES Doctoral Dissertation Competition sponsored by Singapore Management University. Dissertations defended on or after 31 May 2024 are eligible. All research topics in operations management broadly related to technology management, product innovation, process innovation, business model innovation, new product development, and entrepreneurship are welcome. Each dissertation will be judged by a panel of experts on its contribution to the theory and practice of operations management, technology and innovation management, and entrepreneurship. The winners will receive a monetary award and a plaque at the TIMES business meeting at the INFORMS Annual Meeting 2026 in San Francisco.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship by Singapore Management University, the following prize money will be awarded to the winners:
One first-place prize: $800
One second-place prize: $400.
Submission Deadline: April 15, 2026.
A complete submission must include three documents:
1) A cover page with author-identifying information including:
a. The title of the dissertation,
b. The participant's name, current and future affiliation, email address, telephone number,
c. Dissertation defense date,
d. Degree-granting institution,
e. The names of the dissertation chair(s) and the dissertation committee members, and
f. A statement confirming that the author is a member of TIME Section of INFORMS.
2) A dissertation summary/extended abstract of at most five pages (excluding references) in standard format (A4 or Letter, 1'' margins all around, double-spaced, 11-point font). The dissertation summary must explain the main contributions of the research and the relevance and significance of these contributions. Please make sure that there is no author-identifying information in the summary.
3) The complete dissertation without any author-identifying information.
Please name your files as follows: author's last name – short title of the dissertation – document type (e.g., "Russell - Three Essays on Optimal Innovation – cover/summary/dissertation"). All documents should be sent as separate PDF files in a single email to Prof. Jochen Schlapp (j.schlapp@fs.de) with the subject heading "2026 TIMES Dissertation Competition".
Good luck to all participants!
Jochen Schlapp
INFORMS TIMES Vice President
Professor, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management
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Jochen Schlapp
Associate Professor
Frankfurt School of Finance and Management
Frankfurt am Main
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