Research Agenda

I study how supply chain actors with competing interests respond to potential product risks, particularly in situations where regulatory boundaries are unclear or inadequate. A prime example of this is when product safety concerns endanger the public. Product recall is a common solution. While significant research investigates the causes and effects of recalls, our understanding of recall effectiveness – how quickly and completely defective products are remedied – remains limited. Anecdotal evidence, millions of recalled vehicles remaining on the roads unaddressed, suggests that automakers are relatively ineffective in this endeavor. Enhancing recall effectiveness directly reduces the risk of harm to the public, thereby contributing to societal well-being. My thesis explores how the interactions among suppliers, manufacturers, consumers and the regulator influence recall effectiveness.

Dissertation Projects

Essay 1 | Job market paper

The Regulatory Power in Automotive Product Recalls, with K Mayo and GP Ball | Preparing for submission to Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

This paper develops attention-based theory to examine regulator-manufacturer dynamics and their impact on recall performance. Following a regulator-initiated recall, NHTSA increases the level of scrutiny regarding other potential safety issues which may focus the recalling firm decision makers’ attention, leading to superior remedial performance. In contrast, the lengthy investigation process preceding regulator-initiated recalls, coupled with complicated repair procedures, may allow for managerial attention to be diverted as other issues arise, and therefore negatively impact remedial performance. Using a dataset covering 4,200 passenger vehicle recalls in the US from 2009 to 2024, I develop a quasi-experimental design and find that when the regulator initiates a recall, automakers repair rates drop by 5%, equivalent to 20,000 fewer vehicles. We further explore explanatory mechanisms such as firm recall strategy and recall complexity to gain a more nuanced understanding of the findings.

Essay 2

Faster is Not Always Better: An Empirical Investigation on Automotive Recall Effectiveness, with K Mayo and P Skilton | Primary data collection in progress | Targeting for Production and Operations Management

Drawing upon problem solving theory, in this paper, I explore how complexity of auto recalls impacts remedial performance. In complex auto recalls, the origin of the defective part (supplier vs manufacturer) and the defect type (design vs manufacturing), along with other recall attributes such as variety of models and vehicles age can pose significant challenges in devising effective solutions and in implementing those remedies. In such circumstances, sometimes manufacturers decide to act promptly by issuing a warning recall. That is, manufacturers notify consumers about the presence of a safety issue, with the assurance that a remedial solution will be forthcoming. We contend that this temporal lag between problem formulation and remedy implementation can adversely impact recall effectiveness. Using the same dataset as in project 1, we first investigate how defect and recall characteristics influence the likelihood of a warning recall. Subsequently, we analyze how this strategy impacts the ultimate effectiveness of the recall remedy.

Essay 3

No Alarms and No Surprises: Communication Strategies in Automotive Recalls, with K Mayo and P Skilton | Secondary data collected; Lab experiment design in progress | Targeting for Journal of Operations Management

Focusing on manufacturer-consumer interaction, this study builds upon signaling theory to investigate how recalling firms can leverage communication strategies to reduce information asymmetry and encourage consumers compliance with remedial procedures. I will analyze notification letters to explore how automakers strategically draft the organization (format, font, color) and content (word choice, problem explanation, remedy time) of their messages. We plan to enhance the causality by designing and running a series of lab experiments to test the effectiveness of different communication strategies on consumers’ willingness to comply.

Work In Progress

Team Characteristic and Recall Outcome: Role of Gender and Experience in NHTSA Investigations, with K Mayo | Secondary data collected; Primary data collection in progress

Supplier Turnover and Automotive Recall Effectiveness, with J Namdar, K Mayo | Secondary data collection in progress

How Do Automotive Recalls Evolve: Theorizing Extended Product Recalls, with H Damavandi, P Skilton | Theory development

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