Dr Kamran Ali Chatha is a Reader in Operations and Supply Chain Management at 91²Ö¿â Business School, 91²Ö¿â, and Director of Doctoral Programmes.
Kamran’s research and engagement address some of the most important challenges facing global supply chains, including sustainability, circularity, digitalisation, technology adoption, and the use of artificial intelligence to improve supply chain performance. His work is interdisciplinary, internationally oriented, and strongly connected to real-world industry and policy needs.
Kamran has extensive international academic and leadership experience across the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan. Before joining 91²Ö¿â Business School, he held academic positions at Abu Dhabi University, Lahore University of Management Sciences, and the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering at 91²Ö¿â. Across these institutions, he has served in several senior leadership roles, including Associate Dean of Academic Programmes, Director of Research, Director of Strategic Sectors Research Centre, Director of PhD Programmes, and Director of MBA Programme.
His research has been supported by ESRC, EPSRC, Innovate UK, the Royal Society, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, and several institutional and industry partners. His work contributes to academic knowledge, industry practice, and policy discussions on how operations and supply chains can become more sustainable, digitally enabled, resilient and future ready.
Kamran works closely with industry, government, public-sector organisations, professional bodies, and international academic partners. He welcomes collaboration on research projects, consultancy, executive education, doctoral supervision, knowledge exchange, and impact-focused initiatives in operations management, supply chain management, digital transformation, sustainable and circular supply chain, AI adoption, and supply chain resilience.
Research interests
Kamran’s research interests include:
- Sustainability and circularity in supply chains
- Digital transformation and AI applications to improve supply chain performance
- Supply chain resilience and supply chain risk management
- Supply chain ecosystem design
- Socio-ecological and evolutionary perspectives in supply chains
- Systems modelling of supply chains using systems thinking, system dynamics, agent-based modelling, and complexity science
Kamran’s research has been funded by leading UK and international funding bodies, including the Economic and Social Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Innovate UK, the Royal Society, and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. He has also secured research and training funding from academic institutions, industry partners, and international organisations.
Published research
His previous research has been published in several top tier journals, including:
- International Journal of Operations and Production Management
- International Journal of Production Economics
- International Journal of Production Research
- Computers in Industry
- Technological Forecasting and Social Change
- Sustainable Production and Consumption
- Journal of Cleaner Production
He has co-authored several industry facing reports including Future Scenarios of Manufacturing in the UK by 2040, Digital Transformation Toolkit for Manufacturing SMEs, and AI and Advanced Technologies for Supply Chain Management. He has also co-authored a country study focused on Science and Technology based Innovations in Pakistan, capturing the country’s innovation ecosystems for eight strategic industrial sectors.
Kamran currently teaches Contemporary Topics in Supply Chain Management in the flagship MSc Supply Chain Management programme. In the past, he has designed and delivered modules on a wide range of topics including Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Decision Analysis, Behavioural Decision Science, Management Science, Technology and Innovation Management, and Project Management.
He uses teaching cases, applied projects, simulation, experiential learning, and real-world problem-solving approaches to support student learning and professional development.
Executive education
Kamran has extensive experience in designing and delivering executive education and industry training programmes in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan. His training and executive education work covers topics including Leading Digital Transformation, Manufacturing Excellence, Strategic Innovation Management, Leadership Development, Problem Solving and Decision Making, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, and Operational Excellence.
He has secured funding and support from Made Smarter (UK), Servis Industries Limited, AkzoNobel, and MCB Bank (Pakistan), and Bynuna (United Arab Emirates), to design and deliver industry-specific and firm-specific training programmes.
Kamran has also published several teaching cases and conducts pedagogical research to enhance case-based teaching, experiential learning, executive education, and industry-focused learning.
Kamran is a member of the Editorial Board of Operations Management Research.
He has also served as a reviewer for leading peer-reviewed journals, including Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Journal of Supply Chain Management, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, International Journal of Production Research, and International Journal of Production Economics.
He is a member of the following professional bodies:
- European Operations Management Association
- Operational Research Society
- Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
- British Academy of Management
He is also a Fellow of the Peer Review College of the British Academy of Management and a member of the UKRI Talent Peer Review College. He has served as a member of the Made Smarter East Midlands Investment Approval Panel.
Kamran has also contributed to business education quality assurance and capacity building through the National Business Education Accreditation Council, Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. From 2012 to 2019, he served as Chair and Member of Peer Review Teams, leading and contributing to training programmes and workshops on faculty development, workload management, research pathways, and business school development.
- Chatha, K. A., & Jalil, M. N. (2022). Complexity in three-echelon supply chain network and manufacturing firm’s operational performance. Computers & Industrial Engineering.
- Munir, M., Jajja, M. S. S., & Chatha, K. A. (2022). Capabilities for enhancing supply chain resilience and responsiveness in the COVID-19 pandemic: exploring the role of improvisation, anticipation, and data analytics capabilities. International Journal of Operations & Production Management.
- Wadood, A., Chatha, K.A., Jajja, M.S.S., and Pagell, M., (2022). Social Network Governance and Social Sustainability–related Knowledge Acquisition: The Contingent Role of Network Structure, International Journal of Operations and Production Management.
- Gillani, F., Chatha, K. A., Jajja, M. S. S., & Farooq, S. (2020). Implementation of digital manufacturing technologies: Antecedents and consequences. International Journal of Production Economics.
- Chatha, K.A., Butt, I., Arshad, M. and Jajja, M.S.S. (2018), Theoretical Developments in Manufacturing Strategy Literature, International Journal of Operations and Production Management.