Kaitlin Wowak
Robert & Sara Lumpkins Associate Professor of Business Analytics
IT, Analytics, and Operations
574-631-6685
338A Mendoza College of Business
- Biography
- Background
- Publications
- Awards
- Media
Professor Wowak’s research interests lie within the field of strategic supply chain management, with a focus on product recalls. In recent studies, she has also focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) issues within operations management, including how gender and racial/ethnic diversity influences a firm’s operations and product recall behavior. Her research has been published in Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, MIS Quarterly, Strategic Management Journal, Decision Sciences, Journal of Supply Chain Management, and Journal of Business Logistics, among others. She is the recipient of the 2019 Journal of Operations Management Jack Meredith Best Paper Award, winner of the 2022 Responsible Research in Management Award by the Academy of Management, and a finalist for the 2023 MSOM Best Responsible Research Award.
She teaches the core operations management class in the MBA program at the University of Notre Dame. She has won the 2017 James Dincolo Teaching Excellence Award, the 2020 Outstanding Professor Award for the MSM program, the 2023 Joyce Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, and the 2023 Joe and Gina Prochaska Family Teaching Award.
She received her Ph.D. in business administration from the Pennsylvania State University; her M.S. in information systems from Johns Hopkins University; and her B.S. in finance from the University of Florida.
Education
Ph D, Pennsylvania State University
MS, Johns Hopkins University
BS, University of Florida
Areas of Expertise
Product recalls
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Supply chain risks and disruptions
Strategic supply chain management
Editorial Boards
Editorial Board Member
Journal of Business Logistics
May 15, 2022
Journal of Business Logistics
May 15, 2022
Associate Editor
Journal of Supply Chain Management
August 1, 2020
Journal of Supply Chain Management
August 1, 2020
Associate Editor
Decision Sciences
January 1, 2020
Decision Sciences
January 1, 2020
Associate Editor
Journal of Operations Management
January 1, 2018
Journal of Operations Management
January 1, 2018
"Does greater visibility benefit minority businesses? Evidence from an online restaurant review platform", (With Yoon Seock Son, Corey Angst), Production and Operations Management - Accepted (awaiting publication)
"Gender and serious drug recalls: A textual sentiment analysis of drug reviews on WebMD", (With George Ball, Christian Blanco, Hyunwoo Park, Hessam Bavafa), Production and Operations Management - Accepted (awaiting publication)
"Gender mismatch and bias in an advice-seeking online platform: Evidence from a randomized field experiment. Registered Report: Stage 2", (With Yoon Seock Son, Angela Choi, Corey Angst), Journal of Operations Management - Accepted (awaiting publication)
"Gender mismatch and bias in an advice-seeking online platform: Evidence from a randomized field experiment. Registered Report: Stage 1", Journal of Operations Management - Accepted (awaiting publication)
"Business analytics in healthcare: Past, present, and future trends", (With John Lalor, Corey Angst, Sriram Somanchi), Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 25
"A Behavioral perspective on call center routing: The role of inertia", (With Aaron Schecter, Nicholas Berente, Ye Han, Ujjal Mukerhjee), Journal of Operations Management, 67, 2022
"Food for thought: Recalls and outcomes", (With Christopher Craighead, Dave Ketchen, Brian Connelly), Journal of Business Logistics, 43, 2022
"Hiding in the Herd: The product recall clustering phenomenon", (With Ujjal Mukerjee, George Ball, Karthik Natarajan, Jason Miller), Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 24, 2022
"Product recall research: Dimensions, methods, and regulator implications", (With George Ball, Ujjal Mukherjee), INFORMS TutORials in Operations Management, 2022
"Strategic sourcing of multi-component software systems: The case of electronic medical records", (With Sean Handley, Ken Kelley, Corey Angst), Decision Sciences, 2022 - Accepted (awaiting publication)
"Should governments mandate more female board representation? Possible intended and unintended consequences", (With Corinne Post, David Ketchen), Business Horizons, 64, 2021
"The influence of female directors on product recall decisions", (With George Ball, Corinne Post, David Ketchen), Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 23, 2021
"Product competition, managerial discretion, and manufacturing recalls in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry", (With George Ball, Rachna Shah), Journal of Operations Management, 58-59, 2018
"Antecedents of information systems sourcing strategies in U.S. hospitals: A longitudinal study", (With Corey Angst, Sean Handley, Ken Kelley), MIS Quarterly, 41, 2017
"A tutorial on empirical ICT4D research in developing countries: Processes, challenges, and lessons", (With Idris Adjerid, Corey Angst, Juan Carlos Guzman), Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 38, 2016
"Toward a theoretical toolbox for the supplier-enabled fuzzy front end of the new product development process", (With Christopher Craighead, David Ketchen, Jr, Tomas Hult), Journal of Supply Chain Management, 52, 2016
"Tracing bad products in supply chains: The roles of temporality, supply chain permeation, and product information ambiguity", (With Christopher Craighead, David Ketchen, Jr), Journal of Business Logistics, 37, 2016
"So many recalls, so little research: A review of the literature and roadmap for future research", (With Christopher Boone), Journal of Supply Chain Management, 51, 2015
"Throwing caution to the wind: The effect of CEO stock option pay on the incidence of product safety problems", (With Adam Wowak, Michael Mannor), Strategic Management Journal, 36, 2015
"Resource gaps and resource orchestration shortfalls in supply chain management: The case of product recalls", (With David Ketchen, Jr., Christopher Craighead), Journal of Supply Chain Management, 50, 2014
"Supply chain knowledge and performance: A meta-analysis", (With Christopher Craighead, David Ketchen, Jr., Tomas Hult), Decision Sciences , 44, 2013
"Addressing common method variance: Guidelines for survey research on information technology, operations, and supply chain management", (With Christopher Craighead, David Ketchen, Jr., Tomas Hult), IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management , 58, 2011
"An empirically derived framework for global supply chain resiliency", (With Jennifer Blackhurst, Christopher Craighead), Journal of Business Logistics , 32, 2011
Award
"Associate Editor Service Award", Journal of Operations Management , 2024
"Mendoza Mission Research Award", Mendoza College of Business, 2024
"Joe and Gina Prochaska Family Teaching Award", University of Notre Dame, 2023
"Joyce Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching", University of Notre Dame, 2023
"Best Associate Editor Award", Decision Sciences Journal , 2022
"Responsible Research in Management Award", Academy of Management, 2022
"Best Reviewer Award", Journal of Business Logistics, 2021
"Grow the Good in Business Faculty Research Award", University of Notre Dame, 2021
"Outstanding Professor Award", University of Notre Dame, 2020
"Best Reviewer Award", Academy of Management OSCM Division , 2019
"Best Reviewer Award", Journal of Supply Chain Management, 2019
"Jack Meredith Best Paper Award", Journal of Operations Management , 2019
"Nominee, Outstanding Professor Award", University of Notre Dame, 2019
"Nominee, Outstanding Professor Award", University of Notre Dame, 2018
"James Dincolo Teaching Excellence Award", University of Notre Dame, 2017
"Nominee, Outstanding Professor Award", University of Notre Dame , 2017
"Office of the Dean Mission Award", University of Notre Dame, 2017
"Outstanding Reviewer Award", Academy of Management OSCM Division, 2017
"Best Reviewer Award", Journal of Supply Chain Management , 2015
"Best Reviewer Award", Academy of Management OSCM Division, 2014
"Best Reviewer Award", Decision Sciences Journal , 2014
"DSI Best Empirical/Theoretical Paper", Decision Sciences Institute, 2013
ABC 57 News - On Air Interview, November 23, 2021
ABC News, Defense production act could help amid coronavirus, even as President Trump resists: experts. March 25, 2020. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/defense-production-act-amid-coronavirus-president-trump-resists/story?id=69789412, March 25, 2020
ABC News, From paints to plastics, a chemical shortage ignites prices. September 30, 2021. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/paints-plastics-chemical-shortage-ignites-prices-80306900, September 30, 2021
Car and Driver, Automakers delay recalls to minimize negative attention: Study. February 27, 2021. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a35649626/automakers-delay-recalls-study/, February 27, 2021
CBS Evening News - On Air Interview, Interviewed about coronavirus impact on good supply chains. April 14, 2020. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-concerns-food-supply-chain-during-covid19-pandemic/, April 13, 2020
CBS News., Peloton recalls 2.2 million bikes with seat posts that may break while in use. May 11, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/peloton-recall-2-2-million-bikes-seat-post-injury-risks/, May 11, 2023
Economist, Neither rigged nor fair: Bosses’ pay in the rich world is not a fix. But it is flawed. June 25, 2016. http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21701109-bosses-pay-rich-world-not-fix-it-flawed-neither-rigged-nor-fair, June 25, 2016
Forbes, Coronavirus treatments – If more women are on the board, it’s likely safer, new study finds. May 9, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmichelson2/2020/05/09/coronavirus-treatmentsif-more-women-are-on-the-board-its-likely-safer-new-study-finds/#3de7a9f71f35, May 9, 2020
Forbes, Trump orders GM to make ventilators – 10 days after company says it started making them. March 30, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/03/30/trump-orders-gm-to-make-ventilators-10-days-after-company-says-it-started-making-them/#4d9b20b97315, March 30, 2020
Fortune, New study found correlation between executive stock options and product safety. September 14, 2015. http://fortune.com/2015/09/14/stock-options-product-recall/, September 14, 2015
Fortune, How GM’s ventilator plan went from Trump praise to doghouse within days. March 30, 2020. https://fortune.com/2020/03/30/gm-ventilator-plan-trump-praise-doghouse-coronavirus/, March 30, 2020
Market Watch, CEOs with cushy stock perks may put your safety at risk. September 11, 2015. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ceos-with-cushy-stock-perks-may-put-your-safety-at-risk-2015-09-11, September 11, 2015
Market Watch, Market Watch. U.S. COVID vaccine supply to be boosted by Merck helping make J&J vaccine. March 2, 2021. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-covid-vaccine-supply-to-be-boosted-by-merck-helping-make-j-j-vaccine-11614699160?mod=mw_latestnews, March 2, 2021
New York Times, Safety suffers as stock options propel executive pay packages. September 11, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/business/safety-suffers-as-stock-options-propel-executive-pay-packages.html?src=busln, September 11, 2015
New York Times, Factories pivot to fight coronavirus, but challenges abound. March 21, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/03/21/business/bc-us-virus-outbreak-repurposing-factories.html, March 21, 2020
Newswise, Automakers delay recalls to minimize stock penalties, avoid being the first safety issue in news cycle, study shows. January 18, 2021. https://www.newswise.com/articles/automakers-delay-recalls-to-minimize-stock-penalties-avoid-being-the-first-safety-issue-in-news-cycle-study-shows, January 18, 2021
Notre Dame Day Live Interview, On Air Interview, April 25, 2022
Notre Dame Stories – Apple Podcast., What’s going on with the supply chain? January 12, 2022. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notre-dame-stories/id1383798559, January, 2022
NPR, In Abrupt Reversal, Peloton Agrees To Safety Recall Of Treadmills. May 5, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/05/05/993873307/in-abrupt-reversal-peloton-agrees-to-safety-recall-of-treadmills, May 5, 2021
NPR, Why N95 masks are still in short supply in the U.S. January 27, 2021. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/27/960336778/why-n95-masks-are-still-in-short-supply-in-the-u-s, January 27, 2021
PBS, Relief package billions can’t buy hospitals out of shortages. March 29, 2020. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/relief-package-billions-cant-buy-hospitals-out-of-shortages, March 29, 2020
PBS, Chemical shortage inflates paints and plastics prices. September 29, 2021. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/chemical-shortage-inflates-paints-and-plastics-prices, September 29, 2021
PharmExec.com, Getting on Board with Diversity: Behind the Push for More Gender Representation. April 14, 2021. https://www.pharmexec.com/view/getting-on-board-with-diversity-behind-the-push-for-more-gender-representation, April 14, 2021
Technica, Vehicle recalls cluster because OEMs wait for rivals to move first. January 27, 2021. https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/01/automakers-wait-to-issue-recalls-until-their-rivals-do-study-suggests/, January 27, 2021
The Atlantic, How paying CEOs in stock options leads to unsafe products. September 18, 2015. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/ceo-stock-options-recalls/405910/, September 18, 2015
The Wall Street Journal, GM sinks $300 million into recalls. March 18, 2014. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702303563304579445180043774154, March 18, 2014
The Wall Street Journal, Study: big stock options lead to high recall probability. September 22, 2015. http://www.wsj.com/articles/study-big-stock-options-lead-to-high-recall-probability-1442965822, September 22, 2015
The Wall Street Journal, More women on boards, fewer dangerous products. April 7, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-women-on-boards-fewer-dangerous-products-11586284077?shareToken=std12f18c4b22b4fd88e46688379dbbe30, April 7, 2020
U.S. News, Factories pivot to fight coronavirus, but challenges abound. March 21, 2020. https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2020-03-21/factories-pivot-to-fight-coronavirus-but-challenges-abound, March 21, 2020
USA Today, Trader Joe's keeps issuing recalls. Rocks, insects, metal in our food. Is it time to worry? September 1, 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2023/09/01/trader-joes-recalls-2023/70735400007/, September, 2023
Washington Post, How Peloton backed down and agreed to recall treadmills tied to one death, many injuries. May 5, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/05/05/peloton-treadmill-recall/, May 5, 2021
Wisconsin Public Radio Live Interview. , August 22, 2022. https://www.wpr.org/how-product-recalls-work, August, 2022