题    目：Reduced travel time and cross-tier innovation acquisition in multi-tier supply chains

嘉　宾：童勋 副教授 曼彻斯特大学

主持人：曾智宇 助理教授 上海交通大学安泰经济与管理学院

时　间：2026年7月15日（周三）10:00-11:30

地　点：上海交通大学安泰经济与管理学院包兆龙图书馆A507

内容简介：

Prior research has predominantly emphasized the innovation acquisition within a direct supplier-buyer (i.e., Tier-1 buyer) relationship. However, suppliers haven begun to rely on further downstream buyers (e.g., Tier-2 buyers), which, because of their closeness to end-consumer markets, offer valuable insights into evolving requirements. To this end, this study explores how geographic proximity between a supplier and its Tier-1 buyer—captured through exogenous travel-time reductions from new airline routes— influences the supplier’s innovation acquisition from its Tier-2 buyer. In such a multi-tier supply chain setting, we theorize the intermediary role played by Tier-1 buyers that connect suppliers with Tier-2 buyers. We argue that geographic proximity lowers barriers to face-to-face engagement, facilitating suppliers’ acquisition of their Tier-2 buyers’ innovation value. We theorize and test two mechanisms: (1) an indirect channel, where suppliers draw on Tier-2 buyers’ innovation value via Tier-1 buyers’ interpretation and collaboration, and (2) a direct channel, where proximity fosters trust and enables suppliers to more directly interact with Tier-2 buyers. Our empirical analysis leverages a unique dataset that combines U.S. airline routes, supply-buyer relationships, patent citations, and firm-level data from 2004–2018. Using patent citations as an indicator of suppliers’ acquisition of Tier-2 buyers’ innovation value, we examine how travel-time reductions between suppliers and Tier-1 buyers enhance suppliers’ acquisition of Tier-2 buyers’ innovation value. We further demonstrate that this effect is moderated by Tier-1 buyers’ brokerage intensity (which may restrict knowledge flows: indirect channel) and collaborative innovation experience (which may enhance learning: direct channel).

演讲人简介：

Dr. Xun (Bruce) Tong is an Associate Professor of supply chain management at AMBS, the University of Manchester. He now serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Operations Management and OMEGA. His research focuses on environmental sustainability, safety, crowdfunding, and labor dynamics within operations and supply chain management. His work has been published in UTD24/FT50, ABS 4, and ABS 3 journals such as Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Supply Chain Management, Business & Society, Decision Sciences, International Journal of Production Economics, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, and IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, among others. His research has been recognized as a Best Paper finalist at both the Academy of Management Conference (Boston, 2019) and the Decision Sciences Conference (Atlanta, 2023). He has secured several external research grants, including an Open Competition grant (2024) from the Dutch Research Council (PI and individual award: €50,000) and National Science Foundation of China (2025-2028,participant, €40,000).

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