Operations and Information Management
About the Program
The Department of Operations and Information Management offers PhD programs in two areas: information systems and operations management. Both programs are designed to prepare individuals for careers in research and teaching at the university level.
Core Areas of Research
Student research is supported by faculty with expertise in the following areas:
Health care operations management
Auction and competitive bidding
Supply chain management
E-business strategy
Behavioral operations management
IT-enabled business transformation
Service operations management
Lean work organizations
Operations strategy
Market efficiency
Product development
Process design
Sustainability
Process improvement
Online consumer behavior
Academic Requirements
All students must meet the general PhD requirements of both the UW–Madison Graduate School and the Wisconsin School of Business. Ideal candidates for our program possess a strong academic background, especially in analytical and quantitative fields. While many students have completed master’s degrees or an MBA program, these are not required.
Program Coursework
With guidance from an advisor, each PhD student completes customized coursework to fulfill the requirement of 32 credits. This coursework includes classes in both research methodology and in your major area.
Research Methodology
Students complete a minimum of four courses (12 credits). While required to develop basic research background in multiple research areas, most students ultimately specialize in the research area and methodology that best suits their skills and research interests. Research courses can be drawn from inside or outside the Wisconsin School of Business. Research coursework may be used to fulfill the requirements for the major and minor program.
Major Area of Interest
Students work with their advisor to choose a major area of interest. If you enter the PhD program with a master’s degree in your major area, you may complete the required coursework in two years. Students without a relevant master’s degree may take an additional semester to complete the required coursework.
Before becoming a dissertator, PhD students must complete 32 credits of coursework and pass a preliminary exam, which includes two parts: a written exam and an oral presentation of an original research paper.
Faculty Research Interests
Yash Babar
Research interests:
- Sharing Economy
- Socioeconomic Impacts of Information Systems
- Social Media & Online Communities
- Information Systems for Behavioral Change
Bob Batt
Research interests:
- Health care operations management and emergency department operations
- Empirical methods
- Service operations
Hessam Bavafa
Research interests:
- Health care operations
- Econometric analysis
- Stochastic modeling
Kaitlin Daniels
Research interests:
- Platform operations
- Service operations
- Spatial matching
Greg DeCroix
Research interests:
- Contracts
- Distribution systems
- Incentives
- Process management
- Production planning and inventory theory
- Supply chain management
- Sustainable development and business
Qinglai He
Research interests:
- User-generated Content Creativity
- Human-bot Collaboration in Platform Regulation
- Online Learning & Goal-directed Platforms
- Political Discussion & Polarization
Sung Kim
Research interests:
- Electronic commerce
- Information technology
- Online marketing
- Philosophical and methodological issues
Zhuoxin (Allen) Li
Research interests
- Digital platforms
- Digital value chains
- E-commerce and online markets
Jinan Lin
Research interests
- Digital platforms
- Sharing economy
- Location big data analytics
- Interface with fintech and marketing
Xiaoyang Long
Research interests:
- Behavioral operations
- Interface between marketing and operations
- Supply chain management
- New product development
Min-Seok Pang
Research interests:
- Cybersecurity management
- Societal impacts of AI
- IT-enabled public policies
- Strategic IT management
Nicholas Petruzzi
Research interests:
- Operations and supply chain management
- Supply chain risk and uncertainty management
- Pricing and revenue management
- Socially responsible operations management
Enno Siemsen
Research interests:
- Decision-making
- Forecasting
- New product development
- Operations and technology management
- Project management
- Quality improvement
Jordan Tong
Research interests:
- Supply chain management
- Behavioral operations management
- Managerial judgment and decision-making
- Inventory management
- Forecasting
Connect With Current Students
We encourage you to contact our doctoral students in management and human resources to hear their perspectives on the Wisconsin PhD Program.
See Our Placement Results
Graduates of our PhD specialization in management and human resources have accepted tenure-track positions at top research universities.
Contact us