Research Interests

"A scholar is part DNA, part unknown, and part what she/he sees, reads, & goes through as a doctoral student"

- Adapted from Left Right Left (2013)

I am T S Krishnan, a student of management (including organizations, operations & supply chain, public policy). I specialize in studying and understanding management discipline with concentration in Production & Operations Management (POM).

My research objective is to study and understand socially relevant problems and provide implementable solutions.

Many socially relevant problems can be studied "using the same math that tells supermarket chains how many strawberry Pop Tarts they should keep in inventory at their regional distribution centers" (Bill Frezza, 2012). This is where my focus lies i.e. on socially responsible scholarship (Tsui, 2013). Of course, these studies may or may not have a deep "theoretical contribution".


My doctoral research extends theory of product take-back legislation by understanding India's e-waste supply chain and the role played by informal (unorganized) economy. Over a period of time, I'm interested to focus my research on used lead-acid batteries, end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), and biomedical waste. I ask these big picture questions:

Can we develop some useful theories or frameworks for managing these post-consumer waste?

Does copying European Union's legislation (i.e. product take-back) work in the Indian context?

Are there alternatives to product take-back legislation that can work in emerging markets?


I do not believe that every piece of research should be publishable in FT 50 journals or the Elite management journals. I do not believe in the "caste system" among professional academic journals.


I do not believe in disciplinary boundaries. I am interested to integrate functional disciplines of management, management and pure sciences/engineering, etc. But, disciplines are good in their own way. Let me quote from Shafritz et al. (2005): "...the disciplines exist only as intellectual constructs to organize education for students and to serve as mutual support networks for scholars".


Bill Frezza, "Can Private Jets For The Poor Save Health Care Dollars?", October 19 2012, Bio.IT World.

Jay Shafritz et al., "Classics of Public Policy", Pearson Longman, 2005.

Tsui, A. S. (2013). The spirit of science and socially responsible scholarship. Management and Organization Review, 9(3), 375-394.