About
Robert Swinney is Senior Associate Dean for Programs and a professor in the Operations Management area of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.
His research focuses on strategic problems in operations and supply chain management, including the operational implications of consumer behavior, sustainability and social responsibility in supply chains, start-up and platform operations, and supply and demand risk in supply chains.
His work has been published in journals such as Management Science, Operations Research, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and Marketing Science. He is currently a Department Editor at Manufacturing & Service Operations Management and has held associate and senior editor positions at Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and Production & Operations Management.
Prior to joining Fuqua, he received a B.S. in Astronomy from the California Institute of Technology, a Ph.D. in Operations Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and was an associate professor at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Research Interests
- Operations and supply chain strategy
- Operational implications of consumer behavior
- Sustainability and social responsibility in supply chains
- Start-up and platform operations
- Supply and demand risk in supply chains
Academic Positions
- Duke University, Fuqua School of Business
- Senior Associate Dean for ProgramsJul 2025 – Present
- Senior Associate Dean, Executive MBA & Quantitative Management ProgramsJan 2025 – Jul 2025
- Professor2023 – Present
- Associate Professor2013 – 2023
- Stanford University, Graduate School of Business
- Associate Professor2012 – 2013
- Assistant Professor2008 – 2012
Education
- Ph.D., Operations Management2008 · The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- B.S., Astronomy2002 · California Institute of Technology
Research
Selected work
Management Science · 2023
Managing Relationships Between Restaurants and Food Delivery Platforms: Conflict, Contracts, and Coordination
Why commission-based contracts between restaurants and delivery apps so often breed conflict — and how revenue-sharing terms can be designed to align both sides.
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management · 2023
Sustainability Implications of Supply Chain Responsiveness
Whether a firm builds its supply chain for speed or for cost reshapes its carbon footprint — and when a responsive supply chain is the greener choice.
Working paper
Building Supply Chain Resilience Through Vertical Control
When owning more of the supply chain, rather than contracting at arm's length, is the right lever for building resilience against disruption.
All publications by topic
Social & Environmental Responsibility
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Outsourcing, Reshoring, and Carbon Emissions in Supply Chains
with Ali Kaan Tuna · working paper
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Sustainability Implications of Supply Chain Responsiveness
with Ali Kaan Tuna · Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Vol. 25, No. 6, 2023
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Managing Social Responsibility in Multitier Supply Chains
with Lu Huang and Jeannette Song · Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Vol. 24, No. 6, 2022
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Responsible Sourcing in Supply Chains
with Ruixue Guo and Hau Lee · Management Science, Vol. 62, No. 9, 2016
Platform Operations
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Order Stacking in On-Demand Delivery Platforms
with Bora Keskin and James Scott · working paper
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Revenue Sharing and Subscription Platforms for Digital Content Distribution
with Zhenhuan Lei · working paper
-
Managing Relationships Between Restaurants and Food Delivery Platforms: Conflict, Contracts, and Coordination
with Pnina Feldman and Andrew Frazelle · Management Science, Vol. 69, No. 2, 2023
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Designing Rewards-Based Crowdfunding Campaigns for Strategic (but Distracted) Contributors
with Soudipta Chakraborty and Anyi Ma · Naval Research Logistics, Vol. 70, No. 1, 2023
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Intertemporal Content Variation with Customer Learning
with Fernando Bernstein and Soudipta Chakraborty · Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Vol. 24, No. 3, 2022
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Signaling to the Crowd: Private Quality Information and Rewards-Based Crowdfunding
with Soudipta Chakraborty · Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2021
Supply & Demand Risk in Supply Chains
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Mitigating Shortages of Generic Drugs: The Role of Reliability Certification
with Xiaoyu Wu and Can Zhang · working paper
-
Building Supply Chain Resilience Through Vertical Control
with Nitin Bakshi and Ali Kaan Tuna · working paper
-
Product Quality in a Distribution Channel with Inventory Risk
with Kinshuk Jerath and Sang-Hyun Kim · Marketing Science, Vol. 36, No. 5, 2017
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Disruption Risk and Optimal Sourcing in Multitier Supply Networks
with Erjie Ang and Dan Iancu · Management Science, Vol. 63, No. 8, 2017
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Capacity Investment Timing by Start-ups and Established Firms in New Markets
with Gérard Cachon and Serguei Netessine · Management Science, Vol. 57, No. 4, 2011
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Long-Term Contracts Under the Threat of Supplier Default
with Serguei Netessine · Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Vol. 11, No. 1, 2009
Strategic Customer Behavior & Operations
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Inventory Integration with Rational Consumers
with Arian Aflaki · Operations Research, Vol. 69, No. 4, 2021
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Becoming Strategic: Endogenous Consumer Time Preferences and Multiperiod Pricing
with Arian Aflaki and Pnina Feldman · Operations Research, Vol. 68, No. 4, 2020
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Selling to Strategic Consumers When Product Value is Uncertain: The Value of Matching Supply and Demand
Management Science, Vol. 57, No. 10, 2011
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The Value of Fast Fashion: Quick Response, Enhanced Design, and Strategic Consumer Behavior
with Gérard Cachon · Management Science, Vol. 57, No. 4, 2011
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Purchasing, Pricing, and Quick Response in the Presence of Strategic Consumers
with Gérard Cachon · Management Science, Vol. 55, No. 3, 2009
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The Impact of Strategic Consumer Behavior on the Value of Operational Flexibility
with Gérard Cachon · Ch. 14 in Consumer-Driven Demand and Operations Management Models, Springer, 2009
Other Topics
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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 A, Vol. 507, No. 3, 2003
Selected Media
- Assessing the Environmental Cost of Supply Chains — Fuqua Insights, 2023
- A Better Revenue Sharing System for Food Delivery Services — Fuqua Insights, 2023
- New Recipe for Restaurant, App Contract — Questrom, 2022
- UTD Researchers Deliver New Recipe for Restaurant, App Contracts — UT Dallas, 2022
- Understanding the Supply Chain Crisis — Fuqua LinkedIn Live, 2021
- Operations During a Pandemic — Fuqua LinkedIn Live, 2020
- A Bargain Hunter's Paradox — Fuqua Insights, 2020
- To Buy or Not to Buy — Questrom, 2019
- How to Succeed at Crowdfunding — Fuqua Insights, 2019
- How Big Brands Can Cultivate Ethical Suppliers — Stanford Business, 2016
- Paying More for Responsible Sourcing Can Encourage the Opposite — Fuqua Insights, 2016
- Outsourcing May Be Slowing Down Apparel Firms — Stanford Business, 2010
- Here Today, Discounted Tomorrow — Knowledge@Wharton, 2007
Students & Teaching
Doctoral Students
Advisees
- Xiaoyu Wu
- Ali Kaan Tuna
- Soudipta Chakraborty
- Zhenhuan Lei
- Arian Aflaki
- Ruixue Guo
Non-Advisee Student Co-Authors
- James Scott
- Yuan Guo
- Andrew Frazelle
- Erjie Ang
- Lu Huang
Teaching
Awards
- Fuqua Daytime MBA Elective Teaching Award2026
- Fuqua Daytime MBA Core Teaching Award2018, 2020
Duke Fuqua Courses
- Operations Strategy
- Operations Management
- Technological Transformation of Business
- Supply Chain Models
- Operations Management Models
- Emerging Topics in Operations Management
Stanford GSB Courses
- Operations
- Special Topics in Supply Chain Management
Executive & Non-Degree
- Operations Management and Strategy
- Leading Business Strategy Through Operational Excellence
- Operations