Dr Yuanzhu Zhan

Department of Management
Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0) 121 414 6257
Email: y.zhan@bham.ac.uk

Address: Birmingham Business School
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Yuanzhu Zhan is an Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management at the University of Birmingham. Before joining Birmingham Business School, he worked as a Lecturer at the University of Liverpool Management School from 2017-2021. Yuanzhu holds an MSc in Risk Management and a PhD in Business Management from the University of Nottingham. His research focused on investigating the impact of different emerging technologies (e.g., big data analytics, social media and artificial intelligence) on organisations’ operations, innovation management and sustainable supply chain management.

Yuanzhu is the PGR Lead of the Management Department and worked as the Programme Director of the BSc Business Management programme (PT) in Singapore (2021/22). He is actively co-editing two special issues, each spotlighting intersections of technology and sustainability. The first, dedicated to 'Rethinking Operations and Supply Chain Management in the Blockchain Era,' for the International Journal of Production Economics with a submission deadline of 30 September 2024. The second focuses on 'The Transformative Power of Generative AI for Digital Platforms' in IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, with submissions due by 30 October 2024.

Qualifications

PhD in Business and Management
MSc in Risk Management
BSc in Business and Finance
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Biography

Yuanzhu Zhan is an Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management at the University of Birmingham. He is the PGR Lead of the Management Department and worked as the Programme Director of the BSc Business Management programme (PT) in Singapore (2021/22). Yuanzhu’s research interests are in the areas of operations management, big data and analytics, innovation management, and sustainable supply chain management. His research has been published in various refereed journals such as International Journal of Operations and Production Management, European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of Service Research, International Journal of Production Economics, and Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, among others.

Yuanzhu serves as an Associate Editor of Journal of Operations Management and Editorial Board Member of International Journal of Operations & Production Management, International Journal of Production Economics, and Industrial Management & Data Systems. He has served as a guest editor for refereed journals, including the International Journal of Production Economics (*2), Journal of Business Research, and IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. Yuanzhu has been recognized with several awards for contributions to research, including the 2017 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards (Emerald & European Foundation for Management Development), 2017 Excellence in Review Awards (Resources, Conservation and Recycling), 2018 Research Early Career Award (University of Liverpool Management School), 2018 R&D Management Commendation Paper Award (Tsinghua University & Research and Development Management Association), 2022 Emerald Literati Outstanding Paper Award (Industrial Management and Data Systems), and 2024 Best Reviewer Service Award (Journal of Operations Management).

Yuanzhu’s research has been supported through successful applications for funding in roles as both Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator from a range of research organizations (e.g., British Academy/Leverhulme Trust, Marketing Science Institute and National Natural Science Foundation of China). He is a permanent founding member of the International Society of Innovation Methods (I-SIM), and has organised and co-chaired “The 10th International Conference on Systematic Innovation (ICSI) & the 9th Global Competition on Systematic Innovation (GCSI)” that was hosted by the University of Liverpool Management School from July 8-11, 2019.

Teaching

Yuanzhu has taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The focus of his teaching has been ‘Operations and Supply Chain Management’ and ‘Business Analytics’ both at the operational and strategic levels. He has been recognised by Learning Tree International as a Certified Expert in Big Data Analytics since 2018.

Postgraduate supervision

Yuanzhu welcomes applicants who have an excellent academic background and a strong ambition to work in the academic (in technology-driven innovation, business analytics and sustainable supply chain areas) for his/her future career to apply for PhD under his supervision.

Research

Ongoing research projects:

Blockchain governance and business model innovation
AI-enabled digital transformation for sustainable manufacturing
Electric vehicles for net zero emissions in transportation
Circular economy and sustainable supply chain management
Operations in healthcare and pharmaceutical industries

Other activities

Yuanzhu has established collaborations within and across disciplines and national borders. He has established relationships with universities through research collaboration and joint projects. Also, he has undertaken collaborative research with organisations to help them overcome their specific innovation bottlenecks and improve their business performance.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Ye, F, Ke, M, Ouyang, Y, Li, Y, Li, L, Zhan, Y & Zhang, M 2024, 'Impact of digital technology usage on firm resilience: a dynamic capability perspective', Supply Chain Management, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 162-175. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-12-2022-0480

Zhan, Y, Xiong, Y, Han, R, Lam, HKS & Blome, C 2024, 'The impact of artificial intelligence adoption for business-to-business marketing on shareholder reaction: A social actor perspective', International Journal of Information Management, vol. 76, 102768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2024.102768

Zhan, Y, Xiong, Y & Xing, X 2023, 'A conceptual model and case study of blockchain-enabled social media platform', Technovation, vol. 119, 102610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2022.102610

Ali, MH, Chung, L, Tan, KH, Makhbul, ZM, Zhan, Y & Tseng, ML 2023, 'Investigating blockchain technology adoption intention model in halal food small and medium enterprises: moderating role of supply chain integration', International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications. https://doi.org/10.1080/13675567.2023.2217772

Xing, X, Song, D, Qiu, C, Drake, PR & Zhan, Y 2023, 'Joint tank container demurrage policy and flow optimisation using a progressive hedging algorithm with expanded time-space network', European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 307, no. 2, pp. 663-679. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2022.08.044

Wang, J, Zhang, Y, Xing, X, Zhan, Y, Chan, WKV & Tiwari, S 2022, 'A data-driven system for cooperative-bus route planning based on generative adversarial network and metric learning', Annals of Operations Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-022-04842-w

Ye, F, Liu, K, Li, L, Lai, KH, Zhan, Y & Kumar, A 2022, 'Digital supply chain management in the COVID-19 crisis: an asset orchestration perspective', International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 245, 108396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2021.108396

Li, L, Wang, Z, Ye, F, Chen, L & Zhan, Y 2022, 'Digital technology deployment and firm resilience: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic', Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 105, pp. 190-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2022.06.002

Ye, F, Liu, S, Li, Y, Zhan, Y, Cai, Z & Kumar, A 2022, 'Early Adopter or Follower? The Strategic Equilibrium of Blockchain Technology Adoption Strategy for Competing Agri-Food Supply Chains', IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2022.3205342

Li, L, Ye, F, Zhan, Y, Kumar, A, Schiavone, F & Li, Y 2022, 'Unraveling the performance puzzle of digitalization: evidence from manufacturing firms', Journal of Business Research, vol. 149, pp. 54-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.04.071

Han, R, Lam, HKS, Zhan, Y, Wang, Y, Dwivedi, YK & Tan, KH 2021, 'Artificial intelligence in business-to-business marketing: a bibliometric analysis of current research status, development and future directions', Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 121, no. 12, pp. 2467-2497. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-05-2021-0300

Zhan, Y, Han, R, Tse, M, Ali, MH & Hu, J 2021, 'A social media analytic framework for improving operations and service management: a study of the retail pharmacy industry', Technological Forecasting and Social Change, vol. 163, 120504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120504

Ye, F, Huang, G, Zhan, Y & Li, Y 2021, 'Factors mediating and moderating the relationships between green practice and environmental performance: buyer–supplier relation and institutional context', IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. https://doi.org/10.1109/tem.2021.3060434

Xia, Y, Zeng, W, Xing, X, Zhan, Y, Tan, KH & Kumar, A 2021, 'Joint optimisation of drone routing and battery wear for sustainable supply chain development: a mixed-integer programming model based on blockchain-enabled fleet sharing', Annals of Operations Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-021-04459-5

Comment/debate

Xia, Y, Zeng, W, Xing, X, Zhan, Y, Tan, KH & Kumar, A 2021, 'Correction to: Joint optimisation of drone routing and battery wear for sustainable supply chain development: a mixed-integer programming model based on blockchain-enabled fleet sharing', Annals of Operations Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-021-04502-5

View all publications in research portal