Scott Shafer
Modeling Impact

Scott Shafer has several titles. He is professor of operations management and business analytics at Wake Forest University’s School of Business. He’s also senior associate dean for the School’s graduate programs and faculty director for the Master of Science in Business Analytics program.

“But, fundamentally, I’m a modeler,” admits Shafer, describing his research interests. “I develop models to help make business more competitive.”

More specifically, he uses models—whether optimization, simulation, or, most recently, machine learning models—to analyze business processes, improve existing processes, and design new ones, all to make organizations more efficient and effective.

Shafer’s research has been published in several leading journals, including Management Science, Journal of Operations Management, Decision Sciences, Harvard Data Science Review, International Journal of Production Research, Business Horizons, and Quality Management Journal.

A recent research project on decision-making under complex, fast-moving market conditions incorporated all three modeling methods Shafer uses.

“Let’s say you’re Ford and you’ve just announced plans to develop an electric F-150 truck. This is a brand-new, evolving market, and there’s no historical data to show how to approach it.” He and his co-authors generated 100,000 different market and economic scenarios, and for each scenario, they analyzed the optimal capacity expansion strategy—helping identify the most effective way to pursue the market opportunity under uncertainty.
“We used machine learning to identify the patterns and market conditions that create an attractive opportunity. Instead of having to make this decision 100,000 times, we can now learn from all these simulations to guide the one critical decision when it really matters.”

Other work, including research published in Harvard Data Science Review, analyzes master’s programs and job ads to clarify the roles of data scientists versus decision scientists. “This helps organizations hire the right talent and guides how we design curricula to prepare students for these roles.”

His most cited paper, “The Power of Business Models” (Business Horizons), tackled foundational questions about what a business model is and how it differs from an organizational strategy.

Shafer discovered his affinity for improving processes—and helping organizations do the same—while working at a fast-food restaurant in high school. “I was passionate about finding ways to do work activities faster and more efficiently,” he recalls. “It made me realize there were opportunities to do this on a much larger scale that would in turn have a much greater impact.”

He pursued dual undergraduate degrees in industrial management and marketing at the University of Cincinnati. By the end of those four years, he shares, “I found I had more questions than answers. I wanted to apply what I’d learned in the real world, but I also wanted to dig deeper into how organizations operate.” That curiosity led him directly into the university’s PhD program in operations management, where he could combine rigorous research with practical applications.

“Maybe I’ve always been strongly connected to real-world problems because I wasn’t pursuing my education solely to be an academic. What has always interested me is making things better and more efficient.”

Over the years, Shafer has had a significant impact on the School of Business through teaching, research, and program development. He was instrumental in creating the Wake Forest master of science in management program—one of the first programs of its kind in the United States—
and as its inaugural director, he grew enrollment from about a dozen students in the first year to 90 students by the fourth year. His teaching and mentorship have also influenced countless students, helping them develop analytical and problem-solving skills directly applicable to industry challenges.

Shafer appreciates that the School of Business “recognizes that faculty members can contribute to our mission in a variety of ways,” whether through research, teaching, or program innovation. “And we try to let people find the right balance for them. I think that’s somewhat unique in higher education.”