Porter and Plagiarism: An Urban Myth

Since the late fall of 2002, a series of e-mails from an anonymous source have been repeatedly and widely distributed falsely accusing Michael Porter, University Professor at Harvard University; Scott Stern, Associate Professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University; and Jeffrey Furman, Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Management, with plagiarism and fraud for using the term "innovative capacity" in their research publications. One such article was published in the September 2002 issue of the refereed journal Research Policy. The on-going e-mail scam appears to be part of a deliberate effort by an individual or group to undermine the reputations of these faculty members. Some common characteristics of the communications are as follows:

• The e-mails have been sent via changing untraceable accounts.
• The author of the e-mails claims to be affiliated with the "Global Network for Research Integrity," for which no website or contact information are given, and for which no names of any associated individuals can be found.
• No creditable sources for any of the assertions made in the e-mails are cited.
• The e-mails advance a conspiracy theory that implicates a wide range of other institutions and individuals, including the American Economics Association, the National Bureau of Economics Research, the US Council on Competitiveness, the American Management Association, and the World Economic Forum.

Charges of plagiarism are taken seriously in academia. Despite the highly suspicious nature of the source, the unorthodox approach, the hostile tone of the messages, and the dubious content of the charges, the allegations were thoroughly and independently investigated by the faculty members' institutions. All three institutions determined that no plagiarism or other violation of academic process or ethics had occurred. The editor of the journal Research Policy also determined that the allegations were unfounded after following established procedures to examine the allegations at the request of Professor Porter and his co-authors.