Professor Yong Lin

Professor Yong Lin

Department of Management
Head of Department of Management

Contact details

Address
Department of Management
Birmingham Business School
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Yong Lin is Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at Birmingham Business School. His internationally recognised work advances digital transformation, AI, supply chain resilience and business ecosystems, integrating impactful research, educational innovation, industry collaboration and policy engagement.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Management Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 2002
  • MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 1999
  • Senior Fellow of the Advance HE (Higher Education Academy)
  • Certified Management and Business Educator of CABS (Chartered Association of Business School)
  • Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT)

Biography

Professor Yong Lin is Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. He joined Birmingham in September 2021, before that, he spent more than twelve years at the University of Greenwich, where he was Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management. Earlier in his career, he was Associate Professor and Deputy Head of Department at School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. He also worked as a visiting researcher at the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge, and as a research assistant at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

His research examines how organisations and supply chains respond to technological, environmental and geopolitical change. His principal interests include digital transformation, artificial intelligence, supply chain resilience, sustainable productivity, platform internationalisation and business ecosystems. He has led or contributed to research funded by UKRI–ESRC, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, China’s National High Technology Research and Development Programme, and the European Regional Development Fund. His research is strongly collaborative and interdisciplinary, connecting management scholarship with engineering, digital technologies, industry practice and public policy.

Professor Lin is committed to translating academic research into practical and educational impact. He has worked with businesses and professional organisations on digital transformation, supply chain strategy, resilience and sustainability, while also contributing to national and international discussions on logistics and supply chain education.

He has led interdisciplinary curriculum innovation, including the development of the MSc AI in Management, and co-authored one of China’s most widely adopted supply chain management textbooks. Through his research, teaching, academic leadership and external engagement, he seeks to develop more resilient, sustainable and digitally enabled organisations while supporting the development of students, colleagues and professional communities.

Teaching

  • Operations Management
  • Supply Chain Management

Postgraduate supervision

-Digital transformation in supply chain
-Digital technologies and sustainability
-Logistics platform strategy
-Business ecosystems
-Manufacturing strategies

Research

Current research

Professor Lin’s current research focuses on:

  • Digital transformation and artificial intelligence in organisations and supply chains 
  • Sustainable productivity and digitally enabled operations 
  • Supply chain risk, resilience and reconfiguration 
  • Digital logistics platforms and platform-based coordination 
  • Business ecosystem development, governance and transformation 
  • Organisational responses to technological, environmental and geopolitical change 
  • Capability development for more resilient, sustainable and competitive operations 

Previous and related research

His previous and related research includes:

  • Supply chain integration, collaboration and information sharing 
  • Logistics management and manufacturing strategy 
  • International transfer and development of operational capabilities 
  • Digital technologies for coordination, innovation and performance improvement 
  • Interdisciplinary research connecting operations management, strategy, international business and innovation 
  • Practice-oriented collaboration with academic, industry and policy partners

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Xiong, H, Zhang, C, Lin, Y, Yan, H & Xu, Y 2026, 'Can AI streamers’ perseverance and exceptional intelligence overcome KOLs’ viewership moat?', International Journal of Information Management, vol. 87, 103005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2025.103005

Liu, R, Liu, H, Adomako, S, Lin, Y, Huang, T, Wang, Y & Ding, F 2026, 'Can Sustainable Entrepreneurship Create Value for Enterprises? Examining the Roles of Corporate Reputation and Entrepreneurs' Self-Promotion Behavior', Business Strategy and the Environment.

Luo, J, Lin, Y, liu, Z, Jiang, H & Liu, H 2026, 'Platform-based Supply Chains: A Dual-Layered Framework for Digital Transformation and Ecosystem Orchestration', Journal of Digital Economy, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 66-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdec.2026.02.002

Du, L, Fan, M & Lin, Y 2026, 'Pricing decisions of converted and expanded enterprises for medical supplies under major public health emergencies', Frontiers in public health, vol. 14, 1831818. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1831818

Sun, Y, Lin, Y & Shi, Y 2026, 'Sustaining Ecosystems Amid Geopolitical Conflicts: Evidence from Chinese EMNEs', Journal of International Management, vol. 32, no. 1, 101324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2025.101324

Huang, T, Ding, F, Liu, R, Wang, Y & Lin, Y 2026, 'The Formation Mechanism of Sustainable Entrepreneurial Behavior in Chinese New Ventures: A Moderated Mediation Model', Sustainability, vol. 18, no. 2, 926. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18020926

He, Y, Hu, M, Lin, Y & Liu, L 2026, 'The impacts of business and political ties on innovation resilience: the moderating role of product modularity', Journal of Strategy and Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-07-2025-0255

Sheikhi-Nasrabadi, MM, Khosroshahi , H, Esfahbodi, A & Lin, Y 2025, 'Chain-to-chain competition between Electric and Internal Combustion Vehicles supply chains considering pricing, advertisement, carbon emission reduction, and government intervention', Journal of Digital Economy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdec.2025.09.001

Lin, Y, Sun, Y, Shi, Y, Pang, G & Luo, J 2025, 'Developing Resilience with Modular Logic for the Internationalization of Platform MNCs', Long Range Planning, vol. 58, no. 3, 102530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2025.102530

Ren, Q, Xu, X, Scullion, R, Lin, Y, Wang, S & Rong, K 2025, 'Linking social exchange theory to B2B relationship innovation management: The moderating role of reciprocity', Technological Forecasting and Social Change, vol. 212, 124003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2025.124003

Lin, Y, Pang, G, Duan, K, Luo, J, Wang, S & Qu, J 2025, 'The Impacts of Digital and Learning Orientations on Supply Chain Resilience', Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 125, no. 2, pp. 535-574. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-04-2024-0379

Duan, K, Pang, G, Lin, Y & Lonsdale, C 2025, 'Unlocking Blockchain’s Potential in Collaborative Remanufacturing and Data Sharing: A Case Study on Electric Vehicle Batteries', Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 125 , no. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-11-2024-1137

Reilly, D, Warren, L, Kristandl, G & Lin, Y 2024, 'An investigation into the self-efficacy of year one undergraduate students at a widening participation university', Teaching in Higher Education, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 639-656. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.2015756

Paper

Ambituuni, A, Jellason, NP, Lin, Y & Marqui, A 2026, 'Project professionals and the paradoxes of sustainability: a sensemaking perspective', Paper presented at European Academy of Management 2026 Conference , Kristiansand, Norway, 16/06/26 - 19/06/26.

Review article

Zhang, Y, Lin, Y & Esfahbodi, A 2025, 'Digital Transformations of Supply Chain Management via RFID Technology: A Systematic Literature Review', Journal of Digital Economy, vol. 4, pp. 251-267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdec.2025.06.001

View all publications in research portal