Rate My Professor Vikram Bhakoo

Vikram Bhakoo is Professor of Supply Chain Management and serves as Area Head in Operations and Supply Chain Management in the Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business and Economics, at the University of Melbourne. He earned a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from the University of Delhi, a Master’s degree in Information Systems, and a PhD from Monash University. Bhakoo’s research specializes in supply chain management, exploring organizational mechanisms for managing extended supply chains, the adoption and diffusion of technologies, governance dynamics, and sustainability practices. His studies span sectors including healthcare, retail, seafood, construction, and fashion, utilizing qualitative approaches such as case studies, interviews, and discourse analysis. Recent focus areas include external stakeholders’ roles, suppliers’ responses to sustainability requirements, government policy influences, modern slavery, and forced labour mitigation in global supply chains.

His publications feature in leading journals like Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Journal of Purchasing and Supply Chain Management, and Organizational Research Methods. Notable works include “Beyond Compliance-Based Governance: The Role of Social Intermediaries in Mitigating Forced Labour in Global Supply Chains” (Journal of Production and Operations Management), “Humanizing Supply Chains: Turning the Spotlight towards Remediation in Modern Slavery Scholarship” (Journal of Purchasing and Supply Chain Management), “Templates in Qualitative Research Methods: Origins, Limitations, and New Directions” (Organizational Research Methods, 2021), “Sustainability in Multi-tier Supply Chains: Understanding the Double Agency Role of the First-Tier Supplier” (2016), and “A New Methodology for Supply Chain Management: Discourse Analysis and its Potential for Theoretical Advancement” (Journal of Supply Chain Management, 2020). In 2023, Bhakoo received the University of Melbourne’s Reel Impact Prize for his video entry “Combating Modern Slavery in Global Supply Chains,” highlighting research translation for public impact. His contributions have garnered significant academic recognition.