Yi-Su Chen, Ph.D.

Yi-Su Chen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Operations Management at the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Business. She is also an MIDAS affiliated faculty member.  Dr. Chen received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.  She also has MBA degree with dual concentrations on Operations & Logistics Management and Finance.  She has taught both graduate and undergraduate level courses at the University of Michigan–Dearborn, including Introduction to Operations Management, Design and Analysis of Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Logistics Management, and Strategic Sourcing.

In the graduate courses that she taught, Dr. Chen coached and helped the student team prepare for the Great Lakes APICS 2015 competition. The graduate students took third place and was awarded $1000, outperforming students from Purdue University, Indiana University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  She also encouraged and involved her students to work on projects that serve to the broader community.  One project of such effort focused on Network Design for Detroit Fire Department and was featured on the 2nd Annual Engagement Day.  Another high-impact project involved working with Ford Motor Company on a sustainability project that provides students with an opportunity to bridge gaps between industry and academic, between different disciplines on campus, and even across national boundaries. 

Prior to returning to academia, Dr. Chen worked for around 10 years as a financial planner and analyst and in various supply chain positions with Accenture, Unilever, Hewlett Packard, and Agilent.

Research

Dr. Chen's research interests are primarily in supply chain management, supply chain risk management, and (empirical) research methods in OM/SCM.  Some of her research publications are featured in top journals such as Journal of Operations Management, International Journal of Production Economics, and International Journal of Production Research. In addition, she is a contributing author for the Handbook of Behavioral Operations Management: Social and Psychological Dynamics in Production and Service Settings, published by Oxford University Press.
 

University of Minnesota

1. Chen, Y.-S., Su, H.-C., Ro, Y. 2016 “Can I Read Your Mind? Perception Gaps between Supplier’s Anticipation and Buyer Stated Behaviors,” Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 22 (4), 311-324. Finalist paper for the JPSM 2016 Best Paper Award.
2. Ro, Y., Su, H.-C., Chen, Y.-S.  2016. “A Tale of Two Perspectives on an Impending Supply Disruption,” Journal of Supply Chain Management, 52(1), 3-20. (equal contribution) leading article.
3. Su, H.-C., Chen, Y.-S., Ro, Y. “Dyadic Perception Differences in an Impending Supply Disruption: The Effect of Agent Conflict Management Styles” 59th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Academy of Management, 2016. October, Fargo. (equal contribution) Showcase paper award.
4. Kim, Y., Chen, Y.-S., Linderman, K. 2015. “Supply Network Disruption and Resilience: A Network Structural Perspective,” Journal of Operations Management, 33-34 (1), 43-59.
5. Chen, Y.-S., Rungtusanatham, M.J., Goldstein, S. M., Koerner, A. F. 2013. “Theorizing through Metaphorical Transfer in OM/SCM Research: Divorce as a Metaphor for Strategic Buyer-Supplier Relationship Dissolution,” Journal of Operations Management, 31 (7-8) 579-586.