Robert Swinney

Operations, Information and Technology
Stanford University

Robert Swinney is an Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Technology at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. His research focuses on multiple player problems in supply chain management with a particular concentration on the impact of customer behavior on firm decision-making, social and environmental responsibility in supply chains, and the operations of start-up firms. His domains of expertise include retailing, manufacturing, and the automotive, apparel, and consumer electronics industries.

Connect: Email / CV / Twitter / LinkedIn

Active Research

The Impact of Supply Chain Structure on Responsible Sourcing, with R. Guo and H. Lee
Inventory Pooling with Strategic Consumers: Operational and Behavioral Benefits
Product Quality Choice and Inventory Risk with Strategic Consumers, with S. Kim
Disruption Risk and Optimal Sourcing in Multitier Supply Chains, with E. Ang and D. Iancu
Capacity Pre-Selling Under the Threat of Bankruptcy, with E. Plambeck and S. Yang

Journal Publications

Selling to Strategic Consumers When Product Value is Uncertain: The Value of Matching Supply and Demand. Management Science, Vol. 57, No. 10, October 2011, pp. 1737-1751
Capacity Investment Timing by Start-ups and Established Firms in New Markets, with G. Cachon and S. Netessine. Management Science, Vol. 57, No. 4, April 2011, pp. 763-777
The Value of Fast Fashion: Quick Response, Enhanced Design, and Strategic Consumer Behavior, with G. Cachon. Management Science, Vol. 57, No. 4, April 2011, pp. 778-795
Purchasing, Pricing, and Quick Response in the Presence of Strategic Consumers, with G. Cachon. Management Science, Vol. 55, No. 3, March 2009, pp. 497-511. Technical Appendix
Long Term Contracts Under the Threat of Supplier Default, with S. Netessine. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Vol. 11, No. 1, Winter 2009, pp. 109-127. Technical Appendix

Other Publications

The Impact of Strategic Consumer Behavior on the Value of Operational Flexibility, with G. Cachon, Chapter 14 in Consumer-Driven Demand and Operations Management Models, S. Netessine and C. Tang, eds. Springer, 2009
Novel technique for ultra-sensitive determination of trace elements in organic scintillators, with Z. Djurcic, D. Glasgow, L. -W. Hu, R. D. McKeown, A. Piepke, and B. Tipton, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 507, No. 3, 2003, pp. 680-690

Popular Press

Outsourcing May Be Slowing Down Apparel Firms, Stanford Knowledgebase, January, 2010
The Games Companies Play, U.S. News & World Report, August 1, 2007
Here Today, Discounted Tomorrow: Strategic Shoppers Know When to Buy, and at What Price, Knowledge@Wharton, May 30, 2007

Collaborator Websites

Erjie Ang (Stanford)
Gerard Cachon (Wharton)
Ruixue Guo (Stanford)
Dan Iancu (Stanford)
Sang-Hyun Kim (Yale)
Hau Lee (Stanford)
Serguei Netessine (INSEAD)
Erica Plambeck (Stanford)
Song Alex Yang (London Business School)

Teaching

OIT 262: Operations (MBA core), 2009 - 2013
OIT 269: Sloan Operations (Sloan Masters core), 2010 - 2011
OIT 655: Foundations of Supply Chain Management (PhD), 2013 (co-taught with Hau Lee)