John Gray | Fisher College of Business

Department Chair of OBA

Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Operations

Operations and Business Analytics

Background

John Gray is a Dean's Distinguished Professor, and the Chair of the Operations and Business Analytics (OBA) department.

He joined Fisher in 2006 after receiving his Ph.D. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Prior to pursuing his PhD, he worked for eight years in operations management at Procter & Gamble, receiving an MBA from Wake Forest University’s evening program during that time. He holds two undergraduate degrees from Dartmouth College and its Thayer School of Engineering.

Dr. Gray teaches/has taught an elective he created called Strategic Global Sourcing (at the Ph.D., Executive, MBA, MSCM, and undergraduate levels) and Data Analysis (at the Ph.D., Executive, and MBA levels); he has won teaching awards for each class. A student project from his elective led to a co-authored case (Scotts Miracle-Gro: The Spreader Sourcing Decision) that has been widely adopted, earning the title of an “Ivey Classic”.

Dr. Gray’s research has been published in top multi-disciplinary management journals, including Decision Sciences, Management Science and Organization Science; and top operations and supply chain journals, including the Journal of Operations Management, the Journal of Supply Chain Management, and Production and Operations Management. His research has received several awards, including the Jack Meredith Best Paper award from the Journal of Operations Management and the Emerald Citations of Excellence award which recognizes the most impactful articles across a wide range of journals. In 2023, he was given the distinguished scholar award from the OSCM Division of the Academy of Management.

Before becoming chair, he performed extensive internal service. He was founding co-academic director of the Master of Supply Chain Management program from its launch in 2023 until 2026, and academic director of the college's Ph.D. Programs from 2022 to 2026.

He has also served the field extensively. He is currently past president of the Industry Studies Association (ISA) and will wrap up more than eight years of service to the ISA in 2028; this included hosting the annual conference in Columbus in 2023 and serving as president from 2024-2026. He served the Academy of Management's Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) Division for five years from 2013-2018, including a year as division chair and one as program chair. He has also served as a Department Editor at the Journal of Operations Management and serves as a Senior Editor at the Production and Operations Management journal. He co-edited special issue at the Journal of Operations Management on the operations and supply chains of pharmaceutical products, published in 2025.

His work in the pharmaceutical industry has been funded by outside entities on numerous occasions. He is currently the PI on a subaward grant from the Department of Defense, charged with examining global pharmaceutical supply chains. He was co-PI of a $1.7 million two-year contract with the FDA from October 2019-September 2021, and part of a major FDA subaward two years before that.

He also has directly worked in public policy. From August 2022-February 2024, he served as a part-time consultant for the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) of the United States. In January 2026, he testified to the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging on transparency in the pharmaceutical industry.

He is also regularly sought by media outlets. His quotes, interviews, and/or references to his work have appeared in outlets including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, NPR, Bloomberg, ProPublica, Spotlight on America, CNBC, and others.

Awards

Distinguished Scholar, Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM), Academy of Management, 2023
Distinguished Service Award, Journal of Operations Management, 2022
Jack Meredith Best Paper Award, Journal of Operations Management, 2018
Distinguished Service to the Operations and Supply Chain Management Division, Academy of Management, 2018
Outstanding Senior Editor, Production and Operations Management, 2017
Outstanding Full-time Core MBA Faculty, 2015
OM Division Chan Hahn Best Paper Award Winner, Academy of Management, 2014
OM Division Chan Hahn Best Paper Award Winner, Academy of Management, 2012
Emerald Management Reviews Citations of Excellence Award, 2012
Fisher College of Business Pace Setter Research Award, 2011
Outstanding Working Professional MBA Elective Professor, 2010
Elwood S. Buffa Doctoral Dissertation Award, Decision Sciences Institute, 2007

Areas of Expertise

Antecedents and consequences of outsourcing, offshoring, and reshoring
The relationship between boundaries (organizational and geographic) and quality risk
Managing quality across organizational and geographic boundaries
Sustaining quality and safety performance over time

Areas of Expertise

Logistics/Supply Chain Management
- Supply Chain Risk and Resilience
- Supply Chain Management
- Vendor Relations
Production/Operations Management
- Operations Strategy
- Buyer-Supplier Relationship
- Quality Improvement
Public Policy
- Regulation of Business

Education

PhD in Business Administration, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
MBA, Babcock School of Graduate Management, Wake Forest University
BS in Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College
BA in Engineering Sciences, Dartmouth College

Publications

In-person testimony to U.S. Senate Committee on Aging Hearing, January 29, 2026, written and full recording available here: https://www.aging.senate.gov/hearings/truth-in-labeling-americans-deserve-to-know-where-their-drugs-come-from
Please see my 5 May 2020 piece, in Supply Chain Management Review (SCMR.com), on COVID-19 and sourcing; See the archive of a 25 June Webinar on the article here.
Please see my 30 May 2020 statement submitted to the 2 June 2020 Senate Finance Committee Hearing on COVID-19 and foreign drug manufacturing inspections (statement is in the full record; mentioned on p. 137; full text p. 216-218))

PUBLISHED PAPERS

Noh, I., Gray, J., Ball. G., Wright, Z., and Park, H. 2025. Are All Generics Drugs Created Equal? An Empirical Analysis of Generic Drug Manufacturing Location and Serious Drug Adverse Events. Production and Operations Management, 34:9, 2601-2617.
Anand, G., G. Ball, J.V. Gray, U. Mukherjee. 2025. Operations Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Journal of Operations Management, 71:3, 302-313
Dabestini, A. S. Grossman, J.P. Nathan, C.W. Bazil, R.C. Costantino, E. Fox, J. Graedon, J.V. Gray, H. Lever, D.Y. Light, R. Makuch, K.A. Schulman, C.M. White, K. Yu. 2023. A data-driven quality-score system for rating drug products and its implications for the healthcare industry. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 63:2, 501-506.
Esenduran, G., J.V. Gray, B. Tan. 2022. A dynamic analysis of supply chain risk management and extended payment terms. Production and Operations Management, 31:3, 1394-1417.
Altamuro, J., J.V. Gray, H. Zhang. 2022. Corporate Integrity Culture and Compliance: A Study of the Pharmaceutical Industry. Contemporary Accounting Research, 39:1, 428-458.
Helper, S., J.V. Gray, H. Zhang, M. Hughes, A. Roman. 2021. Public policy and operations management. Journal of Operations Management, 67:7, 780-802.
Lan, Y., B. Massimino, J.V. Gray, A. Chandrasekaran. 2020. The effects of product development network positions on product performance and confidentiality performance Journal of Operations Management, 66: 7-8, 866-894.
Pagell, M., M. Parkinson, A. Veltri, J. Gray, M. Louis, F. Wiengarten, B. Fynes. 2020. The tension between worker safety and organization survival. Management Science. 66:10, 4863-4878.
Gray, J.V., S. Helper, B. Osborn. 2020. Value first, cost Later: Total Value Contribution as a new approach to sourcing decisionsJournal of Operations Management 66:6, 735-750. (open access)
- See a version of this paper useful as a classroom reading
Massimino, B., J.V. Gray, Y. Lan. 2018. On the inattention to digital confidentiality in operations and supply chain research. Production and Operations Management 27:7, 1492-1515
Tsay, A., J.V. Gray, J. Mahoney, I. Noh. 2018. A review of POM research on outsourcing in supply chains: Implications for the Theory of the FirmProduction and Operations Management 27:7, 1177-1220
- Section 2 provides a rigorous yet readable summary of the Theory of the Firm literature, suitable for teaching. A slightly edited version of Section 2, which can be used for teaching
Anand, G., J.V. Gray. 2017. Strategy and Organization Research in Operations Management. Journal of Operations Management 53-56, 1-8
Gray, J.V., G. Esenduran, J. Rungtusanatham, K. Skowronski. 2017. Why in the World Did They Reshore? Examining Small-to-Medium Sized Manufacturer Decisions Journal of Operations Management 49-51, 37-51
Massimino, B., J.V. Gray, K.K. Boyer. 2017. The Effects of Agglomeration and National Property Rights on Digital Confidentiality Performance Production and Operations Management 26:1, 162-179
Handley, S.M., J.V. Gray. 2015. Managing Quality in a Heterogeneous Contract Manufacturing Environment. Decision Sciences 44:6 1011-1048
Gray, J.V., E. Siemsen and G. Vasudeva. 2015. Collocation Still Matters: Conformance Quality and the Interdependence of R&D and Manufacturing in the Pharmaceutical Industry. Management Science 61:11, 2760-2781
Gray, J.V., S.M. Handley. 2015. Managing Contract Manufacturer Quality in the Presence of Performance Ambiguity. Journal of Operations Management 38, 41-55
Gray, J.V., G. Anand, A.V. Roth. 2015. The Influence of ISO 9000 Certifications on Process Compliance. Production and Operations Management 24:3, 369-382
Gardner, J., K.K. Boyer, J.V. Gray. 2015. Operational and Strategic Information Processing: Complementing Healthcare IT Infrastructure Journal of Operations Management 33-34, 123-129
Ivanova, A., J.V. Gray, K.K. Sinha. 2014. Towards a Unifying Theory of Management Standard Implementation: The Case of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 34:10, 1269-1306
Gray, J.V., and B. Massimino. 2014. The Effect of Language Differences and National Culture on Plant-Level Process Compliance Production and Operations Management 23:6, 1042-1056
Handley, S.M., J.V. Gray. 2013. Inter-Organizational Quality Management: The Use of Contractual Incentives and Monitoring Mechanisms with Outsourced ManufacturingProduction and Operations Management 22:6, 1540-1556
Gray, J.V., K. Skowronski, G. Esenduran, J. Rungtusanatham. 2013. The Reshoring Phenomenon: What Supply Chain Academics Ought to Know and Should Do Journal of Supply Chain Management 49:2, 27-33
Anand, G., J.V. Gray, E. Siemsen. 2012. Decay, Shock, and Renewal: Operational Routines and Process Entropy in the Pharmaceutical Industry Organization Science 23:6, 1700-1716
Gray, J.V., A.V. Roth, M.J. Leiblein. 2011. Quality Risk in Offshore Manufacturing: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry. Journal of Operations Management 29: 7-8, 737-752
Gray, J.V., S.M. Handley. 2011. Managing Quality in Outsourced Production: Construct Development and Measurement Validation Quality Management Journal 18:2, 26-45
Gray, J.V., A.V. Roth, B. Tomlin. 2009. The Influence of Cost and Quality Priorities on the Propensity to Outsource Production. Decision Sciences 40:4, 697-726
Gray, J.V., B. Tomlin, A.V. Roth. 2009. Outsourcing to a Powerful Contract Manufacturer: The Effect of Learning-by-Doing. Production and Operations Management 18:5, 487-505
Roth, A.V., M. Pullman, A.A. Tsay, J.V. Gray. 2008. Unraveling the Food Supply Chain: Strategic Insights from China and the 2007 Recalls Journal of Supply Chain Management 44:1, 22-39

Working Papers

See CV

Courses

BUSOBA 8240 - Operations Method I: Doctoral research seminar: critical analysis of philosophy of science, qualitative/case study research, survey-based research, research employing secondary data sources. Prereq: Enrollment in BusAdm PhD program.
BUSOBA 8242 - Operations Management Seminar Speaker Series: Doctoral research seminar: Critical analysis of research in different areas of behavioral operations; practice in developing research questions and formulating hypotheses; presentation of original research of publishable quality. Prereq: Enrollment in BusAdm PhD program. Repeatable to a maximum of 3 cr hrs.
BUSOBA 8231 - Strategic Management of Operations II: Doctoral research seminar: critical analysis of research in vertical integration decisions, and measuring operational effectiveness, interorganizational collaboration. Prereq: Enrollment in BusAdm PhD program.
BUSML 7390 - MSCM Kickoff Experience: This 2.5-day on-campus experience will include a mini-course (8 instructional hours) on Finance and Accounting, and two company visits (8 instructional hours) to include facility tours and executive presentations. It will also provide an orientation for the program and an opportunity for the students to meet each other, the faculty and the staff involved in the program.
BUSOBA 4998 - Undergraduate Research in Management Sciences: Undergraduate Research in Management Sciences for non-honors students. Prereq: BusAdm 2291 (499), and Jr standing, and permission of instructor. This course is progress graded.
BUSOBA 8230 - Strategic Management of Operations I: Doctoral research seminar: critical analysis of research studies in different areas of operations management; linking operations to the corporate strategy, dimensions of operations strategy. Prereq: Enrollment in BusAdm PhD program.
BUSOBA 7398 - MSCM Final-Program Experience: This 2-day on-campus experience will include a mini-course (8 instructional hours) on leadership, a company visit to include a facility tour and executive presentation (4 hours), Capstone presentations (2 hours) and an executive panel (2 hours). It will also provide an opportunity for the students to interact and network with each other, the faculty and the staff involved in the program.
BUSOBA 7397 - MSCM Mid-Program Experience: 2-day on-campus experience will include a mini-course (8 instructional hours) on negotiations, a company visit (4 hours) to include a facility tour and executive presentation discussion of the program's capstone project (2 hours) and an executive panel (2 hours). It will also provide an opportunity for the students to interact and network with each other, the faculty and the staff involved.