Abstract
The field of Operations Management (OM) has its roots in practice. Some of the greatest theories in OM came out of efforts to solve real‐world problems. Conversely, practitioners have much to teach academics, with the discovery of the Toyota Production System being the most famous example of all. In the world of production, the most important development in the past several decades is the fact that China has become the world's factory. This has profound impact on the supply chain for any goods imaginable. Given that most of the production activities in the world take place in China nowadays, the OM research community must stay engaged in what is going on in that part of the world. On the one hand, this is only keeping with our tradition of staying close to practice. On the other hand, given the unique business environment in China and the different cultural backgrounds underlying management decisions there, China may well represent a new frontier for OM research, giving us access to challenging problems, innovative solutions, and even management wisdom. The objective of the Special Issue is to showcase the current research done on the theory and practice of operations management in China and to promote this line of work in the future.
Manuscripts that address any aspect of operations management are invited. Topics include, but are not limited to:
Supply chain management Risk management Responses to catastrophic events Product quality and safety issues Social responsibility and sustainability Technology and operations management Supplier selection and development Logistics management Services operations management
A necessary condition for submission to the Special Issue is that the research contains a “China component,” broadly defined. That is, the research problem is at least motivated by a business problem or phenomenon observed in China. The type of methodology employed can be theoretical, empirical, or field based.
All submissions must follow the POM guidelines and will be refereed under the strict standard of the POM journal. Please send an electronic copy of the article in PDF format, together with a list of 5 potential referees, to Fangruo Chen at