Headshot of Jonathan Whitaker

Jonathan Whitaker

Department Chair, Analytics & Operations
Professor of Analytics & Operations
  • Profile

    Jonathan Whitaker is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Richmond, with expertise in technology and operations strategy. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Whitaker worked in consulting and professional services with A.T. Kearney and Price Waterhouse (PwC), including projects in North America, Europe and Asia. His clients have included Fortune 500 companies such as Bank of America, DuPont, General Motors, NCR and Supervalu, and large privately-held firms such as Cargill. He has conducted academic projects at Forbes Global 2000 firms such as Capital One, CarMax, Charoen Pokphand (Thailand), Electrolux, Hospital Corporation of America, MeadWestvaco, Rolls-Royce, Saudi Telecom, and Volvo CE, and public sector organizations such as the Federal Reserve Bank and U.S. Census Bureau. He earned a PhD from the University of Michigan, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a BA from the University of Southern California. The University of Richmond awarded Dr. Whitaker its 2017 Distinguished Educator Award. His research has been published in Financial Times top 50 academic journals such as MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Journal of Management Information Systems, and Production and Operations Management. His academic research has also been profiled in the Wall Street Journal and MIT Sloan Management Review.

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    • Awards

      2017 Distinguished Educator Award from University of Richmond

      2015 Research Award from University of Richmond Robins School of Business

      2014 Outstanding MBA Professor from University of Richmond Robins School of Business

      2013 Best Paper Award from Association for Computing Machinery SIGMIS CPR Conference for V. Ho, J. Whitaker, S. Mithas and P.K. Roy, "Success is More Than a Resumé: The Role of Social and Psychological Capital in Compensation for Offshore BPO Professionals."

      2012 Best Paper Award Nomination from International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) for V. Ho, J. Whitaker, S. Mithas and P.K. Roy, "It's What's Inside that Counts: The Role of Social and Psychological Capital in Compensation for Offshore BPO Professionals."

      2012 Terry Weisenberger Service Award from University of Richmond Robins School of Business

      2010 Outstanding Teacher Award from University of Richmond Robins School of Business

      2008 Best Published Paper Award (Runner-up) from Information Systems Research (ISR) for S. Mithas and J. Whitaker. "Is the World Flat or Spiky? Information Intensity, Skills, and Global Disaggregation of Services."

      2005 Best Paper Award Nomination from International Conference on Information Systems for J. Whitaker, S. Mithas and M.S. Krishnan, "Antecedents of Onshore and Offshore Business Process Outsourcing."

    • Professional Experience

      A.T. Kearney (1999-2002)

      Price Waterhouse (1990-1998)

    • Certifications

      American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

    • Institutional Service

      Chair, Strategic Planning Committee, Robins School of Business, 2010-Present.


      Associate Editor, Information and Management Journal, 2013-Present.


      Richmond Scholars Steering Committee, University of Richmond, 2014-Present.


      Planning and Priorities Committee, University of Richmond, 2015-Present.


      Board of Trustees Business Management Committee, University of Richmond, 2012-2015.


      Co-Chair, Boatwright Scholars Committee, University of Richmond, 2014-2015.


      Chair, Faculty Search Committee, Management Department, 2014-2015.


      Boatwright Scholars Committee, University of Richmond, 2012-2014.


      Faculty Search Committee, Management Department, 2013-2014.


      Oliver Hill Scholars Program, University of Richmond, 2011-2013.


      Community-Based Learning Follow, Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, University of Richmond, 2012-2013.


      Faculty Search Committee, Management Department, 2012-2013.


      Undergraduate Assessment Committee, Robins School of Business, 2007-2008, 2010-2012. 


      Graduate Council, Robins School of Business, 2008-2009. 


      Curriculum Discussion Group, Robins School of Business, 2007-2008.

  • Selected Publications
    Journal Articles

    Thompson, S., J. Whitaker, R. Kohli, C. Jones. "Chronic Disease Management: How Information Technology and Analytics Create Healthcare Value Through the Temporal Displacement of Care," Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ), accepted and forthcoming.

    Whitaker, J., S. Mithas, C-W. Liu. "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder: Toward a Contextual Understanding of Compensation of IT Professionals Within and Across Geographies," Information Systems Research (ISR), accepted and forthcoming.

    Whitaker, J., M.S. Krishnan, C. Fornell, and F. Morgeson. "How Does Customer Service Offshoring Impact Customer Satisfaction?" Journal of Computer Information Systems (JCIS), accepted and forthcoming.

    Ekman, P., P. Thilenius, S. Thompson, and J. Whitaker. "Digital transformation of global business processes: The role of dual embeddedness, Business Process Management Journal (BPMJ), accepted and forthcoming.

    Mithas, S., T. Kude, and J. Whitaker. "Artificial Intelligence and IT Professionals," IEEE IT Professional (IEEE IT Pro) (20:5) 2018, 6-13.

    Whitaker, J., S. Kumar, and M.S. Krishnan. "How Client Capabilities, Vendor Configuration, and Location Impact BPO Outcomes," Journal of Computer Information Systems (JCIS) (58:2) 2018, 180-191.

    Mithas, S., J. Whitaker, and A. Tafti. "Information Technology, Revenues and Profits: Exploring the Role of Foreign and Domestic Operations," Information Systems Research (ISR) (28:2) 2017, 430-444.

    Whitaker, J., P. Ekman, and S. Thompson. "How Multinational Corporations Use Information Technology to Manage Global Operations," Journal of Computer Information Systems (JCIS) (57:2) 2017, 112-122.

    Whitaker, J., R. New, D. Ireland. "MOOCs and the Online Delivery of Business Education: What's New? What's Not? What Now?" Academy of Management Learning and Education (AMLE) (15:2) 2016, 345-365.

    Kim, K., S. Mithas, J. Whitaker, and P.K. Roy. "Industry-Specific Human Capital and Wages: Evidence from the Business Process Outsourcing Industry," Information Systems Research (ISR) (25:3) 2014, 618-638.

    Thompson, S., P. Ekman, D. Selby, and J. Whitaker. "A Decision Support Model to Align IT Infrastructure Investment with Firm Strategy," Decision Support Systems (DSS) (59) 2014, 108-118.

    Whitaker, J., S. Mithas, and M.S. Krishnan. "Organizational Learning and Capabilities for Onshore and Offshore Business Process Outsourcing," Journal of Management Information Systems (JMIS) (26:3) 2011, 11-42. Lead research article.

    Whitaker, J., N. Melville, R. Plice, and J. Dedrick. "The Role of Economic Development and Firm Internationalization in Internet Business Practices," Communications of the Association for Information Systems (CAIS) (27:1) 2010, 611-626. Profiled in Jul/Aug 2008 BizEd magazine.

    Mithas, S. and J. Whitaker. "Is the World Flat or Spiky? Information Intensity, Skills, and Global Disaggregation of Services," Information Systems Research (ISR) (18:3) 2007, 237-259. Runner-up for 2008 ISR Best Published Paper Award, profiled in Fall 2006 MIT Sloan Management Review.

    Whitaker, J., S. Mithas, and M.S. Krishnan. "A Field Study of RFID Deployment and Return Expectations," Production and Operations Management (POM) (16:5) 2007, 599-612.

    Bardhan, I., J. Whitaker, and S. Mithas. "Information Technology, Production Process Outsourcing, and Manufacturing Plant Performance," Journal of Management Information Systems (JMIS) (23:2) 2006, 13-40. Lead research article.

    Additional Publications

    Banham, R., A. Adele, J.F. Robinson, and J. Whitaker. "Regulatory Risks: Prepping Your Company for 2012," CFO.com, February 14, 2012.

    Whitaker, J., M.S. Krishnan, and C. Fornell. "Does Offshoring Impact Customer Satisfaction?" The Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2008, R4.

    Whitaker, J. and M.S. Krishnan. "Offshore Call Center Capabilities," Call Center Magazine, May 2, 2005.

  • Links
    https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=11-TH-oAAAAJ&hl=en