Promoting the value of logistics to future business leaders

Abstract

Despite the increased importance and corporate visibility of logistics – and its concomitant opportunities – the demand for college educated entry‐level logisticians continues to greatly exceed their supply. The current study, which responds to this persistent shortfall of talented students, was designed to investigate three primary issues: student familiarity with logistics vis‐à‐vis other business disciplines; student perceptions of logistics in terms of academic and career issues; and the potential impact of promoting the value of logistics in a “principles of marketing” course. The findings suggest that students are relatively unfamiliar with logistics as a career choice and have a distinct level of neutrality towards many of the key “selling” points of the discipline. However, the findings also suggest that a focus on promoting the value of logistics in a “principles of marketing” course can have a significant impact on these perceptions. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for various logistics constituencies along with suggestions for future research.