LUMS faculty continues to make their mark in the field of research. Dr. Muhammad Shakeel Sadiq Jajja, Assistant Professor of Operations and Supply Chain at the Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB), recently won the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Best Research Paper Award 2017 as part of their National Awards for Outstanding Researchers programme. The paper was titled ‘Linkages between firm innovation strategy, suppliers, product innovation, and business performance: Insights from resource dependence theory.’ The research was published in the International Journal of Operations & Production Management in 2017, an A Rated journal in global rankings.
The paper used the resource dependence theory to hypothesise that a buyer’s strategic focus on innovation has a positive impact on the supplier’s focus on innovation, and will also improve the buyer-supplier relationship. This results in increased product innovation and business performance. The data collection for this research in Pakistan and India was partially funded by Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA).
According to his findings, there is a link between company or buyer engagement with international markets and performance. As a result, managers need to develop internal innovation capabilities, partnering with like-minded organisations, and creating conditions for effective cooperation are key drivers of innovation outcomes.
The award recognises the achievements of Pakistani researchers, and aims to acknowledge the high performance of Pakistani faculty and researchers. Dr. Jajja also received a cash award and was invited to the ceremony held in Islamabad on August 7, 2019 with his co-authors Shaukat Ali Brah, former Rector, Karachi School of Business and Leadership and Syed Zahoor Hassan, faculty member at SDSB.
Commenting on the University’s focus on research and its impact on his work, Dr. Jajja said, “LUMS provides the needed support and culture to carry out world-class research in management sciences in Pakistan.”
Read more about the paper here.
