Research seminar by Prof. Wendy L. Tate & Prof. Hannah J. Stolze

Posted on September 21, 2026 by administrator

IIM K hosted its third research seminar on July 09, 2026, for the year 2026-27. It was conducted by Prof. Wendy L. Tate, McCormick Endowed Chair in Supply Chain Management, University of Tennessee, USA & Prof. Hannah J. Stolze, William E. Crenshaw Endowed Chair of Supply Chain Management, Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University, USA 

The topic was Designing Supply Chain Research for Good: Integrating Sustainability, Theory, and Human Well-Being

Abstract of the talk given below

This research integrates theory-driven perspectives from supply chain scholarship with empirical analysis of social businesses and a transformative lens on well-being to advance a holistic model of Sustainable and Transformative Supply Chain Research Design. Building on conceptual arguments about the role of theory in structuring cumulative knowledge in supply chain management, the study examines how physical supply chains, together with financial and information support chains, are intentionally configured in low-income contexts to deliver triple bottom line (TBL) outcomes from the outset. Extending this framework, insights from transformative supply chain research emphasize that sustainable design should also be evaluated in terms of eudaemonic well-being outcomes—such as dignity, safety, agency, social inclusion, and quality of life for workers, consumers, and communities—rather than solely on firm performance. Collectively, the integrated framework positions supply chains not merely as efficiency engines, but as socio-technical systems capable of generating economic, environmental, social, and human flourishing outcomes through deliberate design choices and stakeholder engagement.