Photo of Professor Hugo Lam

Professor Hugo Lam BEng, MSc, PhD, FHEA

Chair in Operations Management and Director of Research Operations and Supply Chain Management

Research

Social Responsibility in Global Supply Chain Management

I am interested in whether, how, and why managing global supply chains in socially responsible ways may affect firm performance.

Social Media Technologies in Operations Management

I am interested in whether, how, and why adopting social media technologies in organizations may affect operational and financial outcomes.

PhD Projects

Currently I am supervising three PhD students and looking for potential PhD students to conduct research on the following PhD projects. More information about the funding available for the following PhD projects can be found at https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/management/study/postgraduate-research/. On the other hand, potential PhD students are welcome to propose and work on their own research ideas. I am always available for research discussion.

PhD Project 1
Title: When Social Meets Professional: The Performance Implications of Adopting Social Media in Workplaces
Abstract: Moving beyond sales and marketing, firms have started to adopt social media for internal communications and collaborations among employees. Although some anecdotal evidence suggests that such internal social media help connect diversified employees, enable virtual collaborations, and improve employee relationships, others argue that too much interactions via internal social media may distract employees from their professional work, resulting in lower productivity. This research attempts to resolve this controversy by empirically investigating the performance implications of adopting social media in workplaces. In particular, it will examine which performance indicators are affected by internal social media and how such effects may vary across firms and industries.

PhD Project 2
Title: Suffering Together? The Effects of Suppliers’ Environmental Violations on Buyers’ Performance
Abstract: It is well understood that firms violating environmental regulations would suffer from their own wrongdoing, but less is known about how such environmental violations may also affect their buyers along the supply chains. Although in general buyers’ performance could be affected by their suppliers’ environmental violations, it is unclear how the magnitude of such effects may vary across different buyers, suppliers, supply chains, and industries. This research intends to gain a better understanding of not only whether but also how buyers suffer from their suppliers’ environmental violations. In particular, it will provide a systematic analysis of how the magnitude of such effects may depend on various factors at different levels (e.g., firms, supply chains, and industries).

Research Group Membership

Research Grants

Does doing good during bad times pay off? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

BRITISH ACADEMY (UK)

October 2020 - September 2022

Does Mandatory Environmental Reporting Affect Firm's Operational Efficiency? Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in the UK

BRITISH ACADEMY (UK)

October 2017 - September 2019