Research seminar: Professor Rogelio Oliva

Please join us in welcoming Professor Rogelio Oliva from Mays Business School to Trinity Business School on Wednesday, 29th of July 2026.

Please REGISTER HERE.

Seminar Title: Process theories in operations management

Abstract: This presentation argues for a stronger use of process theories in Operations Management by contrasting them with variance theories and showing why time ordering, mechanisms, and dynamic causality are essential for explaining organizational change. It reviews foundational and contemporary work on process theorizing, highlighting how process perspectives can better support theory building, data interpretation, and the study of change over time. Illustrative examples from Operations Management research are used to demonstrate how process theorizing can generate richer explanations of why organizational transformations succeed or fail.

Biography: Rogelio Oliva is the Robyn and Alan Roberts Chair in Business at Mays Business School, and Research Affiliate at MIT Sloan System Dynamics Group. Prior to joining the Mays faculty, Professor Oliva served in the faculty of the Harvard Business School, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez in Chile, and Monterrey Tec in Mexico. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Operations Management.

His research explores how behavioral and social aspects of an organization interact with its technical components to determine the firm's operational performance. His research work has been published in several academic journals, among them: Management Science, Organization Science, Journal of Operations Management, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, and California Management Review. He is the recipient of the 2019 Jay W. Forrester Award for the best written contribution to the System Dynamics field in the preceding five years.

A native of Cd. Valles, Mexico, he holds a B.E. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology (Mexico), an M.A. in Systems in Management from Lancaster University (UK), and a Ph.D. in Operations Management and System Dynamics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Note: Tea/coffee and sandwiches will be served between 12 - 1 pm by the Donor Wall on the Ground Floor.

Photographs will be taken during this seminar and may be shared on social media. If you do not wish to appear, please notify tbs.research@tcd.ie.