Research Interests
The questions that drive my work
Strongly associated with my industrial experience, my research interests center on strategies that influence operational sustainability in supply chains — including the dissemination of chemical hazard information, the design of product warranties, and how firms translate environmental intentions into operational behavior. I take an empirical approach, working at the intersection of Sustainable Operations, Supply Chain Management, and Operations Strategy.
Sustainable Operations
I examine how regulatory signals, voluntary rankings, and firm-level environmental initiatives shape operational outcomes. Work in this area has studied chemical hazard disclosures, greenhouse gas emissions, water efficiency, waste reduction, and the strategic advantages of early environmental practice adoption.
Supply Chain Management
I explore how buyer-supplier relationships evolve under environmental and competitive pressures. Recent work investigates supplier responses to relative environmental performance benchmarks, dependence dynamics and productivity, voluntary environmental disclosure, and strategic relationship dissolution.
Operations Strategy
I study firm-level strategic decisions in operations — including warranty design and its interaction with product reliability and secondary markets, the efficiency implications of sustainable development, and the gap between firms' green intentions and actual operational behavior.
Information & Transparency in Operations
A growing thread in my work concerns how information disclosure shapes operational behavior — from crowdfunding budget transparency and information asymmetry to environmental disclosure and its downstream effects on firm waste reduction. How much does visibility change what firms actually do?
Societies & Collaboration
I am a member of AOM, EurOMA, DSI, INFORMS, M&SOM, and POMS, and serve on editorial boards at JOM, POM, IJOPM, and IJPE. I welcome conversations about research collaboration in sustainable operations, empirical supply chain management, and operations strategy. Reach me at waynefu@umich.edu.