The Best Student Paper Award is given to the best paper presented as part of the OSCM conference program with a student as the leading author.
Papers for this award are assessed on the following criteria:
- Significance of the paper to the field of Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM);
- The extent to which the paper is interesting and managerially relevant;
- Theoretical contribution to OSCM;
- Use of appropriate methodological rigor;
- Clarity of writing and/or presentation.
Finalists for the award are selected by the OSCM Division Program Chair based on the ratings and comments received from AOM conference reviewers. The award winner is then chosen from these finalist papers by an independent committee following a blind review process.
2025 Best Student Paper
Winner: The Impact of Integrating Remote Consultation in Routine Care on Patient Engagement
Zhening Liu, Alistair Brandon-Jones, Frankie Brown, Fiona Gillison, Christos Vasilakis
Finalists:
What is the Cost of Inefficient Organisational Design Decisions in Megaprojects?
Carolina M. Zani, Juliano Denicol, Tim Broyd
How Friendship Networks Shape Quality-Efficiency Trade-Offs in Business Units
Yi Yang
Supply Chain Learning for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in Multi-Tier Supply Chains
Zhi Zhang
2025 Best Student Paper Winner Feature
Congratulations on winning this award, Zhening, and team! What motivated you to conduct this award-winning research?
The COVID-19 pandemic had a big impact on healthcare delivery, by, for example, accelerating the adoption of remote consultation technologies at an unprecedented pace. While this rapid transition addressed immediate access needs, it also created significant operational challenges that varied considerably across clinical settings. Our research team was particularly intrigued by the heterogeneous outcomes we observed: some departments seamlessly integrated remote consultations while others encountered substantial barriers.
What made this phenomenon especially compelling was the persistence of hybrid care models even after pandemic restrictions lifted. Healthcare service providers weren't simply reverting to pre-pandemic practices, instead, they were actively choosing to maintain remote consultation options. This suggested that beyond addressing an urgent need, these technologies perceived to offered genuine value that warranted investigation. Having witnessed firsthand through family members and research collaborators who work as clinicians the struggles of adapting to remote consultation during the pandemic, our team recognised the urgent need to understand these integration dynamics systematically.
What is the most interesting outcome of your awarded AOM paper?
Our most significant finding reveals that the impact of remote consultation on patient engagement varies substantially across clinical departments and stakeholder groups. Through our analysis of four departments (Cardiology, Dermatology, Gerontology, and Rheumatology), we discovered that each faces unique integration challenges and opportunities that shape patient engagement in distinct ways.
For instance, we found that different departments prioritised different aspects of remote consultation integration based on their clinical needs. Some departments focused on technological infrastructure and visual capabilities, while others emphasised accessibility and family involvement in the consultation process. The success of remote consultation integration depended heavily on how well these departmental priorities aligned with patient needs and technological capabilities.
Additionally, we identified specific mechanisms through which contextual factors influence patient engagement in remote healthcare delivery. We found that factors such as technology readiness, clinical workflow adaptation, and stakeholder coordination all play critical roles in shaping engagement outcomes. This has the potential of providing healthcare organisations with actionable guidance for designing remote consultation services that maintain appropriate levels of engagement while addressing the operational complexities of hybrid care models.
What are your future plans? Will you continue this work?
I'm thrilled to be starting as a Lecturer/Assistant Professor at the University of Bath School of Management this fall, where I plan to expand this research stream. For example, we are currently finalising a directly linked research project that extends this work by looking into mental health services, examining how service triad interactions between patients, clinicians, and technology providers influence care delivery and patient engagement. This context presents unique challenges given the relational nature of mental health treatment.
Looking forward, we see healthcare technology adoption as a critical area for operations management research. The proliferation of emerging technologies in healthcare, from AI diagnostics to digital therapeutics, presents both opportunities and challenges for healthcare delivery systems. Our future research aims to generate insights that will help healthcare organisations thoughtfully integrate these technologies while maintaining focus on patient-centred care.
We believe this research stream has significant potential for impact, as healthcare remains an enduring concern that affects everyone. By understanding how to effectively integrate technological innovations while preserving the human elements of care, we hope to contribute to more efficient and effective healthcare systems that serve diverse patient populations.
Thank you for sharing !
Past Best Student Paper Awards
2024 Yasaman Asayesh, Anant Mishra, Arzi Adbi: "Health Insurance and Labor Productivity in US Manufacturing: Evidence from Medicaid Expansion"
2023 Sukrit Vinayavekhin, Aneesh Banerjee, Feng Li: "Impact of Blockchain-driven Sustainable Supply Chain Transparency on Buyer's Supplier Selection
2022 Emily C. Dickey, Prisca Brosi, Jan C. Fransoo: "Developing and Implementing Business Ecosystem Strategies - A Performance Measurement Perspective"
2021 Gurpreet Muctor: "Developing and Implementing Business Ecosystem Strategies - A Performance Measurement Perspective"
2020 Antoaneta Momcheva: "Subcontracted Labor Mix in Projects Teams: The Benefits and Costs on Financial Performance"
2019 Park Sinchaisri: "The Impact of Behavioral and Economic Drivers on Gig Economy Workers"
2018 Stefan Kurpjuweit: "Partnering with New Venture Suppliers: A Dynamic Capabilities Approach"
2017 James Knuckles, ManMohan Sodhi: “A Multiple Case Study of Development Supply Chains for Household Solar Products Sold in Haiti”
2016 Sina Golara, Kevin Dooley: “The Influence of Manufacturing Services on Innovation”
2015 Desirée van Dun, Celeste Wilderom: “Governing Highly Performing Lean Team Behaviors: A Mixed-Methods Longitudinal Study”
2014 Luv Sharma, Aravind Chandrasakeran, Ken Boyer: “The Impact of Hospital Information Technology Bundles on Performance: an Econometric Study”
2013 Marcus Bellamy, Soumen Ghosh, Manpreet Hora: “Supply network structure and firm innovation”
2012 Brett Massimino, John Gray: “The Effect of Culture and Cultural Distance on Plant-Level Process Compliance”
2011 Claire Senot, Aravind Chandrasekaran, Ken Boyer
2010 Heng Liu, Yi Liu, Yuan Li
2009 Pekka Helkio, Antti Tenhiala: “Beyond the Product-Process Matrix: Fit between Production Process Specificity and Task Environment”
2008 Bart van Hezewijk (RSM Erasmus U.)
2007 Anant Ravindra Deshpande (UT Pan American)
2006 None
2005 Andrea McGee Prud’homme (MSU), Ken Boyer (MSU), Roger Calantone (MSU)
2004 Gopesh Anand (OSU)
2003 Murat Kristal (UNC), Aleda Roth (UNC) and Jayashankar Swaminathan