Professor Niraj Kumar
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Email
n.kumar@essex.ac.uk -
Telephone
+44 (0) 1702 328281
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Location
GB3.27, Southend Campus
Profile
Biography
Niraj Kumar is the Head of Strategy, Operations and Entrepreneurship (SOE) group and Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at the Essex Business School (EBS). He is also the Associate Director of Research of the SOE Group and the Director of Centre for Research on Entrepreneurship, Innovation Management and Internationalisation (REIMI). Previously, he held academic positions at the University of Liverpool Management School, Sheffield University Management School, Hull University Business School, University of Bath School of Management and University of Hong Kong. Professor Kumar has extensively published on various aspects of Operations and supply chain management in reputed international journals, books and conferences. Some of his research papers are highly cited and appeared in leading international journals such as International Journal of Operations and Production Management (IJOPM), Omega: the International Journal of Management Science, Transportation Research, International Journal of Production Economics, Expert Systems with Applications, International Journal of Production Research, Supply Chain Management and Technological Forecasting & Social Change. He currently serves on the editorial board of International Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Resilience (IJSCOR), and editorial review board of IJOPM and Sustainability. He also served on the academic and scientific committees of reputed international conferences such as European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) annual conference, International Symposium on Industrial Engineering & Operations Management, European Decision Sciences Institute annual conference, and Sustainable Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management conference. He is a member of the peer review group of Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and Newton Fund. Over the years, he has led and contributed to a range of research projects funded by European Commission (Horizon 2020), British Academy, Newton Fund, British Council, UGC and UKIERI. He has also worked on a variety of projects with several companies in Aerospace, Automobile, Retail, Construction, Food, IT and Waste management sectors in UK and abroad. In spare time, he actively participates in educational outreach and charitable activities. His research interests are primarily in Sustainable operations and supply chain management, Food supply chain, Supply chain innovation and Big data practices in supply chain. He has successfully supervised a number of PhD students in past and is interested in supervising new PhD students having innovative research ideas in operations and supply chain management field. Any prospective PhD student with a passion for research can get in touch to discuss the proposal. Current research projects: - Transition towards circular agri-food systems in Thailand : Multi-stakeholders perspectives (funded by Newton fund) - The role of cooperatives in developing sustainable organic food systems in Brazil (funded by Newton fund) - Sustainable transformation of food wastes into value added products: A case study of the seafood sector in Vietnam (funded by Newton fund) - Integration of Global and Local Agri-Food Supply Chains towards Sustainable Food Security (funded by European Commission – Horizon 2020) Personal distinctions: -“Top 20 most cited author” (International Journal of Production Research, 2020) - “Top 25 most cited author” (Transportation Research Part E, 2019) - Excellent paper presentation award, 10th International Conference on Systematic Innovation (Liverpool, 2019). - Organiser and Conference Co-chair of Sustainable operations, logistics and supply chain management conference (University of Sheffield, 2014) - The Bath Award (University of Bath, 2009) - Organiser and Conference Chair of Meeting of Minds research conference (University of Bath, 2009)
Appointments
University of Essex
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Head of Strategy, Operations and Entrepreneurship group, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/1/2022 - present)
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Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/6/2020 - present)
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Associate Director of Research and Impact, Strategy, Operations and Entrepreneurship group, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/6/2020 - present)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Sustainable Operations and Supply Chain Management
Food Supply Chain
Supply Chain Innovation
Big data management
Current research
Resilient food-bank supply chains for disadvantaged communities in uncertain times of cost of living crisis
PVC (Research) Strategic Fund 2022: The project aims to explore the food bank supply chains resilience in UK and India in current uncertain scenario of cost of living crisis , its impact on communities and the recovery practices adopted. A pilot study was conducted to assess the food bank supply chains and the risks involved. The outcome of the project was an evaluation tool for supply risks and early triggers of food shortages. Potential recommendations were identified to improve the resilience of the food bank supply chain
Conferences and presentations
Role of customers in Circular Economy adoption in Indian Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises
European Operations Management Association, EUROMA, Brussels, 7/7/2023
Future of sustainable food systems in developing economies
Invited presentation, Brazil, 14/5/2019
Waste management in seafood supply chain : Motivations, challenges and way forward
Invited presentation, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 10/4/2019
Circular food supply chain
Invited presentation, Dalaman, Turkey, 13/10/2018
Sustainable Business Development through Technology and Innovation
Invited presentation, Bangkok, Thailand, 27/3/2018
Green design to Green disposal in supply chain
Keynote presentation, Pathways to Greening the Supply Chain Operations, Ahmedabad, India, 10/1/2016
Developing holistic framework for low-carbon supply chain in developing economies
Invited presentation, Ahmedabad, India, 17/6/2013
Teaching and supervision
Publications
Journal articles (32)
Thangeda, R., Kumar, N. and Majhi, R., (2024). A Neural Network-Based Predictive Decision Model for Customer Retention in the Telecommunication Sector. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 202, 123250-123250
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N. and Michaelides, R., (2024). Sustainability‐oriented innovation in manufacturing firms: Implementation and evaluation framework. Business Strategy and the Environment. 33 (6), 5086-5108
Lu, M., Ali, M., Zhang, W. and Kumar, N., (2023). Mediation Analysis of Public Emotions in response to Policy Implementation Performance during Crises: The Case of COVID-19 Management Policies in the UK. Public Management Review. 26 (8), 2499-2530
Majhi, R., Thangeda, R., Sugasi, RP. and Kumar, N., (2021). Analysis and prediction of COVID‐19 trajectory: A machine learning approach. Journal of Public Affairs. 21 (4), e2537-
Al‐kalouti, J., Kumar, V., Kumar, N., Garza‐Reyes, JA., Upadhyay, A. and Zwiegelaar, JB., (2020). Investigating innovation capability and organizational performance in service firms. Strategic Change. 29 (1), 103-113
Mokhtar, ARM., Genovese, A., Brint, A. and Kumar, N., (2019). Improving reverse supply chain performance: The role of supply chain leadership and governance mechanisms. Journal of Cleaner Production. 216, 42-55
Kumar, N., Brint, A., Shi, E., Upadhyay, A. and Ruan, X., (2019). Integrating sustainable supply chain practices with operational performance: an exploratory study of Chinese SMEs. Production Planning and Control. 30 (5-6), 464-478
Mokhtar, ARM., Genovese, A., Brint, A. and Kumar, N., (2019). Supply chain leadership: A systematic literature review and a research agenda. International Journal of Production Economics. 216, 255-273
Yazdani, M., Abdi, MR., Kumar, N., Keshavarz-Ghorabaee, M. and Chan, FTS., (2019). Improved Decision Model for Evaluating Risks in Construction Projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 145 (5), 04019024-04019024
Nisar, TM., Kumar, N. and Prabhakar, G., (2019). Effect of best management practices on the performance and productivity of small firms. Production Planning and Control. 30 (10-12), 919-934
Arunachalam, D. and Kumar, N., (2018). Benefit-based consumer segmentation and performance evaluation of clustering approaches: An evidence of data-driven decision-making. Expert Systems with Applications. 111, 11-34
Arunachalam, D., Kumar, N. and Kawalek, JP., (2018). Understanding big data analytics capabilities in supply chain management: Unravelling the issues, challenges and implications for practice. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review. 114, 416-436
Tob-Ogu, A., Kumar, N. and Cullen, J., (2018). ICT adoption in road freight transport in Nigeria – A case study of the petroleum downstream sector. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 131, 240-252
Tob-Ogu, A., Kumar, N., Cullen, J. and Ballantyne, E., (2018). Sustainability Intervention Mechanisms for Managing Road Freight Transport Externalities: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability. 10 (6), 1923-1923
Ebrahimi, SM., Koh, SCL., Genovese, A. and Kumar, N., (2018). Structure-integration relationships in oil and gas supply chains. International Journal of Operations and Production Management. 38 (2), 424-445
Chen, X., Wang, X., Kumar, V. and Kumar, N., (2016). Low carbon warehouse management under cap-and-trade policy. Journal of Cleaner Production. 139, 894-904
Kumar, M. and Kumar, N., (2016). Three dimensions of service recovery: examining relationship and impact. Supply Chain Management. 21 (2), 273-286
Kumar, N., Agrahari, RP. and Roy, D., (2015). Review of Green Supply Chain Processes. IFAC-PapersOnLine. 48 (3), 374-381
Lake, A., Acquaye, A., Genovese, A., Kumar, N. and Koh, SCL., (2015). An application of hybrid life cycle assessment as a decision support framework for green supply chains. International Journal of Production Research. 53 (21), 6495-6521
Dadhich, P., Genovese, A., Kumar, N. and Acquaye, A., (2015). Developing sustainable supply chains in the UK construction industry: A case study. International Journal of Production Economics. 164, 271-284
Genovese, A., Lenny Koh, SC., Kumar, N. and Tripathi, PK., (2014). Exploring the challenges in implementing supplier environmental performance measurement models: a case study. Production Planning and Control. 25 (13-14), 1198-1211
Mishra, N., Kumar, V., Kumar, N., Kumar, M. and Tiwari, MK., (2011). Addressing lot sizing and warehousing scheduling problem in manufacturing environment. Expert Systems with Applications. 38 (9), 11751-11762
Chan, FTS. and Kumar, N., (2009). Effective allocation of customers to distribution centres: A multiple ant colony optimization approach. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing. 25 (1), 1-12
Kumar, N., Tiwari, MK. and Chan, FTS., (2008). Development of a hybrid negotiation scheme for multi-agent manufacturing systems. International Journal of Production Research. 46 (3), 539-569
Chan, FTS., Kumar, N., Tiwari, MK., Lau, HCW. and Choy, KL., (2008). Global supplier selection: a fuzzy-AHP approach. International Journal of Production Research. 46 (14), 3825-3857
Kumar, N., Ranjan, R. and Tiwari, MK., (2007). Recognition of undercut features and parting surface of moulded parts using polyhedron face adjacency graph. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. 34 (1-2), 47-55
Chan, FTS., Kumar, N. and Choy, KL., (2007). Decision-making approach for the distribution centre location problem in a supply chain network using the fuzzy-based hierarchical concept. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture. 221 (4), 725-739
Chan, FTS. and Kumar, N., (2007). Global supplier development considering risk factors using fuzzy extended AHP-based approach. Omega. 35 (4), 417-431
Chan, FTS., Bhagwat, R., Kumar, N., Tiwari, MK. and Lam, P., (2006). Development of a decision support system for air-cargo pallets loading problem: A case study. Expert Systems with Applications. 31 (3), 472-485
Kumar, N. and Chan, FTS., (2006). Ranking based heuristic approach for three-dimensional multi- shaped container-loading problem. Annual Journal of Institute of Industrial Engineers. 26, 51-60
Ranjan, R., Kumar, N., Pandey, RK. and Tiwari, MK., (2005). Automatic recognition of machining features from a solid model using the 2D feature pattern. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. 26 (7-8), 861-869
Ranjan, R., Kumar, N., Pandey, RK. and Tiwari *, MK., (2004). Agent-based design framework for riser and gating system design for sound casting. International Journal of Production Research. 42 (22), 4827-4847
Book chapters (4)
Kumar, N., A genetic algorithm based approach for air cargo loading problem. The University of Hong Kong Libraries
Kumar, N. and Chan, FTS., Systematic study of the complexities involved in loading and transportation of air-cargos. In: Operations and Technology Management (Part 2) - Complexity Management in Supply Chains- Concepts, Tools and Methods. Editors: Blecker, T. and Kersten, W., . Erich Schmidt Verlag GmbH & Co, Berlin. 141- 157
Tob-Ogu, A., Kumar, N. and Cullen, J., Sustainability intervention mechanisms for managing road freight transport externalities. In: Sustainable Freight Transport. Editors: Tavasszy, L. and Piecyk, M., . MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. 5- 23
Kumar, V., Mishra, N., Chan, FTS., Kumar, N. and Verma, A., (2011). A Multiple Ant Colony Optimisation Approach for a Multi-objective Manufacturing Rescheduling Problem. In: Multi-objective Evolutionary Optimisation for Product Design and Manufacturing. Springer London. 343- 361. 9780857296177
Conferences (62)
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N., Zhan, Y. and Michaelides, R., Sustainability-oriented innovation: a capability-based framework
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N., Zhan, Y. and Michaelides, R., Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in Emerging Economies, 26th ICE/IEEE ITMC Conference, Cardiff, UK (2020)
Alexandre de Lima, F., Neutzling, DM., Land, AL. and Kumar, N., Analysing the Role of Certification Schemes within Alternative Food Networks, 7th EurOMA Sustainable Operations and Supply Chain Forum, Nottingham, UK (2020)
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N., Zhan, Y. and Michaelides, R., Sustainability-oriented innovation capabilities in manufacturing organisations, INFORMS 2019 Annual Meeting, Seattle, USA (2019)
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N., Zhan, Y. and Michaelides, R., An empirical investigation of sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) approach in manufacturing organisations, 33rd British Academy of Management Conference, Birmingham, UK (2019)
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N., Zhan, Y. and Michaelides, R., A systematic approach towards sustainability-oriented innovation in manufacturing firms: An empirical research, 10th International Conference on Systematic Innovation (ICSI), Liverpool, UK (2019)
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N., Zhan, Y. and Michaelides, R., Determinants of sustainability-oriented innovation capability in manufacturing firms, 26th EurOMA Annual Conference, Helsinki, Finland (2019)
Sikabbwele, K., Kumar, N., Drake, P. and Hernandez, JH., Understanding the impact of leagile manufacturing on environmental sustainability, 26th EurOMA Annual Conference, Helsinki, Finland (2019)
Jayanthakumaran, M., Shukla, N., Kumar, N. and Beydoun, G., Impact of disruption in currency supply chain on farming operations in India: A social media analytics approach, 26th EurOMA Annual Conference, Helsinki, Finland (2019)
Kumar, N., Impact of environmental policy change on business operations: Insights from social media analytics, POMS 30th Annual Conference, Washington D. C., USA (2019)
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N., Zhan, Y. and Michaelides, R., Antecedents of sustainability- oriented innovation in manufacturing organisations, POMS 30th Annual Conference, Washington D. C., USA (2019)
Tob-Ogu, A., Kumar, N. and Cullen, J., Sustainability commitment: A decision framework for innovating and examining transport practices, 49th Annual Meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute, Chicago, USA (2018)
Kumar, N., Martinez, GM., Arunachalam, D. and Kumar, V., Role of social media analytics in understanding the impact of institutional pressures on sustainable practices: A case study of Indian automotive industry, 25th EurOMA Annual Conference, Budapest, Hungary (2018)
Arunachalam, D., Kumar, N., Brint, A. and Cantarelli, C., The role of Big Data Analytics Maturity on Firm performance: Evidence from the UK manufacturing sector, 25th EurOMA Annual Conference, Budapest, Hungary (2018)
Kumar, N., Martinez, GM. and Arunachalam, D., Role of social media analytics in evaluating supply chain agility, POMS 29th Annual Conference, Houston, Texas, USA (2018)
Kumar, N., Martinez, GM. and Arunachalam, D., Exploring the impact of currency flow disruption on supply chain using big data analytics, POMS 29th Annual Conference, Houston, Texas, USA (2018)
Mokhtar, ARM., Genovese, A., Kumar, N. and Brint, A., The Relationship between Supply Chain Leadership and Suppliers’ Performance in Manufacturing Industries, 27th IPSERA Conference, Athens, Greece (2018)
Arunachalam, D., Kumar, N., Kawalek, JP. and Shukla, N., Exploring big data analytics capabilities for supply chain: a systematic literature review
Kumar, N., Impact of early vs late implementation of green practices in a supply chain
Mokhtar, ARM., Genovese, A., Kumar, N. and Brint, A., Supply Chain Leadership and Performance
Kumar, N. and Kayikci, Y., Exploring the impact of deprivation factors on household waste management operations
Kayikci, Y. and Kumar, N., A Resilience Measurement Approach for Logistics Center Infrastructure
Kumar, N., Comparative study of green supply chain practices in developing and developed countries
Tob-Ogu, A., Kumar, N. and Cullen, J., Operations and Sustainability Hierarchy: Sustainability Priorities in Road Freight Transport
Arunachalam, D., Kumar, N. and Kawalek, JP., Big Data and Analytics (BDA) in the UK manufacturing supply chain: BDA capability maturity, absorptive capacity and Supply chain performance
Mokhtar, ARM., Kumar, N. and et al., Supply Chain Leadership
Kumar, N. and Roy, D., Exploring sustainable supply chain practices in developing countries: Evidence from Indian industries
Kumar, N. and Kumar, V., Contemporary issues in developing an efficient supply network: A systematic literature review and research agenda
Kumar, N., Agrahari, RP. and Roy, D., The role of life cycle thinking in integrating the green objectives in a supply chain: A literature review and future research agenda
Kumar, N., Supplier capability and dyadic collaboration: the role of informal governance structure
Kumar, V., Trang, PM., Kumar, N. and et al., Examining the impact of product innovation and service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty
Tob-Ogu, A., Cullen, J. and Kumar, N., Exploring theoretical perspectives on information and communication technology roles in enabling sustainable road freight transportation: An evaluation of the Nigerian oil and gas industry downstream sector
Kumar, N., Shi, E. and Brint, A., Sustainable supply chain practices in the developing economy: An exploratory study of Chinese packaging industry
Vlajic, J. and Kumar, N., Impact of students’ engagement in teaching supply chain management
Vlajic, J. and Kumar, N., Investigating the vulnerability sources of sustainable food supply chains
Kumar, N. and Vlajic, J., Exploring resilience in the context of sustainable supply chain management: Towards a capability based perspective
Genovese, A., Acquaye, A., Kumar, N. and Koh, SCL., Sustainable supply chain management: linking environmental assessment to operational planning
Ebrahimi, SM., Koh, SCL., Genovese, A. and Kumar, N., The mediating effect of supply chain integration on the relationship between organizational structure and operational performance: An empirical investigation
Ebrahimi, SM., Koh, SCL. and Kumar, N., The relationship between organizational structure, supply chain integration, and operational performance: An empirical study
Kumar, N., Howard, M., Lewis, M. and Roden, S., Supplier capability and information sharing in a supply chain: An empirical analysis
Kumar, N. and Lee, T., Exploring the impact of deprivation level on sustainable transport system in UK
Brint, A. and Kumar, N., Modeling alternate bargaining using target, reserve and minimum price thresholds
Kumar, N., Howard, M., Lewis, M. and Carey, S., Understanding the alignment of supplier capability and governance mechanism in buyer-supplier collaboration
Kumar, M. and Kumar, N., Strategic Agility in Financial Services: Defence mechanism in turbulent times
Kumar, N., Howard, M., Lewis, M. and Carey, S., Exploring the influence of contractual and relational governance on the relationship between capability and collaboration
Kumar, N., Howard, M., Lewis, M. and Carey, S., Relationship between supplier’s capabilities and collaboration type: A conceptual framework
Kumar, N., Howard, M., Lewis, M. and Carey, S., Exploring the impact of technological capability on inter-firm collaboration in UK aerospace industry
Kumar, N., Chan, FTS. and Wadhwa, S., Ant-colony based optimization approach for distribution centre allocation problem
Kumar, N., Howard, M. and Lewis, M., Resource Based Strategy in the Context of Supply Chain: Evolution and Beyond
Kumar, N. and Chan, FTS., Three-dimensional air-cargo loading problem: An evolutionary algorithm based approach
Kumar, N. and Chan, FTS., Mathematical modeling of the air-cargo loading problem for the betterment of the airfreight forwarding industry
Kumar, N. and Chan, FTS., Systematic study of the complexities involved in loading and transportation of air-cargos
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N., Zhan, Y. and Michaelides, R., Sustainability-oriented innovation capabilities in manufacturing firms: A dynamic capabilities perspective
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N. and Zhan, Y., A systematic literature review on sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI)
Tanksale, A., De, D. and Kumar, N., A multi-objective model for placement optimization in refugee resettlement
Harsanto, B. and Kumar, N., Firms’ ICT and Innovation in Jakarta Metropolitan Area
De, D., Tanksale, A. and Kumar, N., (2023). Role of customers in Circular Economy adoption in Indian Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises
Kumar, N., De, D. and Lee, CH., (2023). Social sustainability driven operational strategy in a food supply chain
Lu, M., Ali, M., Kumar, N. and Zhang, W., (2023). Identification of the Impact of Content-Related Factors on the Diffusion of Misinformation: A Case Study of the Government Intervention Policies during COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK
Sikabbwele, K., Kumar, N., Drake, P. and Hernandez, JH., (2021). Managing environmental sustainability tensions in leagile manufacturing within the furniture manufacturing industry
Harsanto, B., Kumar, N., Zhan, Y. and Michaelides, R., (2020). Exploring sustainability-oriented innovation capabilities in the Indonesian manufacturing firms, 80th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM), Vancouver, Canada (2020).
S. Chan, F. and Kumar, N., (2006). A new heuristic embedded approach for multi-constraint air-cargo loading problem
Grants and funding
2024
Wealmoor KTP Application (KTP 24_25 R1)
Wealmoor Limited
2023
To design and incorporate machine learning capabilities and robotic process automation tools into the administrative workflow of a traditionally-structured manufacturing and supply organisation.
Innovate UK (formerly Technology Strategy Board)
The role of consumers in driving UK manufacturing�s digital transformation
Loughborough University (Funder)
2022
Creating a 'Common Value' Business Model
University of Essex (ESRC IAA)
Simarco KTP Application - 27 months
Simarco International Limited
Market assessment and feasibility analysis to support future growth of the business
Paddy & Scotts Cafes Ltd
2020
Sustainable transformation of food wastes into value added products: A case study of the seafood sector in Vietnam.
British Academy
The role of cooperatives in developing sustainable organic food systems in Brazil
British Academy
Transition towards circular agri-food systems in Thailand: Multi-stakeholder�s perspectives
British Academy
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