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 Journal of Operations Management, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of Service Research, and International Journal of Production Economics, among others.

Yuanzhu serves as an Associate Editor of Journal of Operations Management, a Department Editor of IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, and an 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), 2024 Best Reviewer Service Award (Journal of Operations Management), and 2025 Research Output Award (Birmingham Business School).

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

Li, Z, Li, Y, Zhou, J, Ye, F & Zhan, Y 2026, 'How AI-Generated Summaries of Reviews are Reshaping E-Commerce With Competing Retailers?', IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 73, pp. 1116-1131. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2025.3637769

Zhang, M, Liu, D, Shui, X, Hu, W & Zhan, Y 2025, 'Examining the impact of trade tariffs on semiconductor firms' environmental performance', International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 281, 109528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109528

Choi, TM, Lam, HKS, Sarkis, J, Zhan, Y & Zhu, Q 2025, 'Extreme weather and production economics: Insights, challenges, and future directions', International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 281, 109504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2024.109504

Iftikhar, A, Ali, I, Zhan, Y, Stevenson, M & Tarba, SY 2025, 'Firms’ strategic responses to rising uncertainty amid ongoing geopolitical tensions: The synergistic mediating role of network capability and innovation ambidexterity', Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, vol. 199, 104146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2025.104146

Zhan, Y, Kumar, A, Hosany, S, Xia, Y, Schoenherr, T & Xia, L 2025, 'Market competition in the platform economy: new insights, integrative framework and research agenda', Journal of Business Research, vol. 200, 115648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115648

Zhan, Y, Yeung, ACL, Tan, KH, Xiong, Y, Xing, X & Ye, F 2025, 'Success and Failure of Blockchain Technology Providers: Founders' Power, Beyond-Blockchain Exploration and Centralized Decision-Making', Journal of Operations Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/joom.1364

He, H, Zhan, Y, Huo, B, Zhang, Y & Shi, X 2025, 'The impact of national centralized drug procurement policy on firm performance: Evidence from Chinese pharmaceutical firms', Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, vol. 200, 104225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2025.104225

Huang, D, Zhan, Y & Lonsdale, C 2025, 'Utilising Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Firm Circular Economy Maturity: A Thematic Review via Machine Learning', Business Strategy and the Environment, pp. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4291

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

Editorial

Zhan, Y, Dai, J, Zhang, Y, Shang, G, Paulraj, A & Yeung, A 2026, 'Rethinking operations and supply chain management in the blockchain era: Insights and research directions', International Journal of Production Economics, vol. 293, 109903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2025.109903

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