Industry Studies

Gail M. Pesyna and A. Frank Mayadas, Program Directors

Industry Centers

The Industry Centers are the original elements of the Sloan Industry Studies program.  The first Industry Center was established in 1990 – the International Motor Vehicle Program at MIT. Since then a total of 26 centers have been established at 19 universities across the country.  Each Industry Center consists of a multidisciplinary group of faculty and students who study many aspects of a single industry. All the centers generally involve faculty from economics and a wide variety of business and technical disciplines. In addition, depending upon the industry and the issues of importance to that industry, centers include faculty from the other social sciences (e.g., anthropology, sociology), the humanities (e.g., history), public policy, industrial relations, law, agriculture, medicine, public health, etc.  

For a list of these centers, see Current Sloan Industry Centers. More detailed information can be obtained on the websites of each individual center, or on the Sloan Industry Studies Website.

In the industry studies tradition, research conducted at the centers employs a wide variety of both quantitative and qualitative research methods, and is characterized by the researchers having close contact with the people in the industry for data, observations, and insights. We believe that such observation-based work by well-informed academics has led to the many significant practical contributions the centers have made to their industries over time.

Since the beginning of the Sloan Industry Centers program, well over 700 faculty members and nearly 1,000 graduate students have taken part in the centers' research. There have been nearly 400 Ph.D.'s produced, most of whom have gone on to other academic positions and many of whom have continued to study industries.

The Foundation's plan is to help start new centers where it finds strong interest and financial commitment of both industry representatives and a university group who want to establish a center modeled upon the Sloan Industry Centers. In such cases, the Foundation may provide assistance. Interested parties should contact one of the Program Directors for more information.

The Sloan Industry Centers have each assembled a unique and rich collection of data and knowledge about their industries that can be useful to companies and people in these industries, as well as to individuals and firms who study or do business with companies in these industries, to governmental agencies, and to the media. Inquiries from all these sources are welcomed. In addition, the Sloan Industry Centers provide a unique resource for a broad spectrum of users across the entire scholarly spectrum. We would like to encourage those outside the centers to work with them on using this valuable resource.

Current Sloan Industry Centers
a listing of Centers, directors, website addresses, and contact information

The Sloan Industry Studies Website
detailed information on all the Centers

The Sloan Industry Studies Program
history and description of program elements

Industry Studies Working Papers
recent scholarship

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