Executive Director, International Experiential Learning Programs, Marshall School of Business
Professor in the Department of Information and Operations Management
Information and Operations Management Department
USC Marshall School of Business
213-740-2379
ravi.kumar@marshall.usc.edu
Professor Kumar was the founder of the PRIME Program, a distinctive experiential learning course for all Marshall MBA students, and the Marshall School is the first business school to launch such a required course in the US. He also helped establish the Global Executive MBA (GEMBA) program, in collaboration with Shanghai Jiaotong University. GEMBA draws senior executive level students from countries around the Pacific Rim to Shanghai and Los Angeles where classes are taught by Marshall faculty and SJTU faculty.
Before joining USC in 1986, Dr. Kumar taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Kumar has received several awards for teaching excellence at both the University of Illinois and USC, including two Outstanding Educator Awards and the Golden Apple Teaching Award.
His research interests include the embedding of information systems within global physical operations as well as the development of sustainable information technology industries in developing countries (such as computing hardware in Taiwan, software in India and telecommunications hardware in S. Korea ). Companies that have funded his research include TRW, Fidelity Investments, Caterpillar, Bourns Instrument, Southern California Edison as well as the National Science Foundation. He has extensive international consulting experience, including projects with companies such as Rolls Royce, BMW, Daimler Benz Aerospace, ABB, Ericsson, BAX Global, Motorola, Reuters, Du Pont, Korea First Bank, Korean Air, Infosys, Acer, Keppel, Lippo Bank, and Shell Hong Kong. He is the author or co-author of more than 40 articles including publications in Management Science, Marketing Science, Journal of Economic Theory, Production and Operations Management and Journal of Operations Management. Professor Kumar also serves on the editorial boards for Production and Operations Management and Operations Management Education Review.
Education:
Ph.D., Northwestern University
Selected Publications:
G.C. Hadjinicola and K.R. Kumar (2007) “The Effect of Firm Number on Equilibrium Product Positioning and Pricing: A Marketing-Production Perspective”, International Transactions in Operational Research, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 325-347, 2007
R. Chellappa and K. R. Kumar (2005) "On the Impact of Operational Costs and changing Consumer Expectations in Designing Web-based retail Stores” Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 22, No.1, Summer 2005
Kumar, K. R. & Hadjinicola, G.C. (2003). Platform products: Theory and evidence from international practice linking manufacturing, marketing and product design. In J. Eliashberg and A. Chakravarty (Eds.), Managing business interfaces: Marketing, engineering and manufacturing perspectives.
Kumar, K. R. & Chakravarty, A. K. (2002). Customer satisfaction through design, manufacturing and supply networks: Introduction to the special issue. In A. K. Chakravarty and K. R. Kumar (Eds.), Production and Operations Management Special Issue, 11(3).
Kumar, K. R., Gruca, T. S., & Sudharshan, D. (2002). Sibling brands, multiple objectives and response to entry: The case of the Marion retail coffee market. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30(1), 59-69.