Veronica H. Villena
Assistant Professor
Department Supply Chain & Information Systems
Office Address 412 Business Building
Phone Number
814-863-2054
Email Address
vhvillena@psu.edu
Veronica H. Villena

Assistant Professor
Department Supply Chain & Information Systems
Office Address 412 Business Building
Phone Number
814-863-2054
Email Address
vhvillena@psu.edu
Veronica H. Villena is an assistant professor of supply chain and information systems in the Smeal Business School at Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on how companies engage their global supplier network to achieve economic, environmental, and social outcomes. She has worked with leading sustainability companies in the automotive, electronics, consumer product, pharmaceutical, and food sectors on how they can diffuse their environmental and social practices to their first-, second-, and third-tier suppliers. Her research explores the challenges companies face in cascading their environmental and social requirements to these upstream suppliers. It also provides insight into suppliers’ constraints in and reasons for not fulfilling such requirements. She received the 2019 Faculty Award for Sustainability from Smeal College of Business, which recognizes a faculty member for their extraordinary achievement and service in advancing Smeal’s sustainability goals in teaching, research, and outreach.
She is the recipient of the 2019 Jack Meredith Best Paper award at the Journal of Operations Management and the Chan Hahn Best Paper Award at the Academy of Management Conference (OSCM division) in 2016 and 2020. Her work has been published in a variety of prestigious journals, including Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Journal of Management, Journal of Supply Chain Management, Decision Sciences Journal, and Harvard Business Review. She serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Operations Management and as a Senior Editor for Production and Operations Management. Dr. Villena's research papers can be accessed at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Veronica_Villena.
She received an MBA and a PhD in management from IE Business School. Before joining academia, Dr. Villena worked in several positions in manufacturing, purchasing, quality, and project management. Her experience as an auditor for SGS has enabled her to assess the process management of hundreds of multinational companies in various industries in Europe and Latin America.
Expertise
Buyer-supplier relationships, Supply networks, Sustainable procurement
Education
Ph D, Supply Chain Management, IE Business School, 2011
MBA, Operations Management, IE Business School, 2005
BS, Industrial Engineering, Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, 2002
Courses Taught
SCM 406 – Strat Proc (3)
Analysis of strategic procurement in the supply chain. SCM 406 Strategic Procurement (3) SCM 406 provides an in-depth analysis of the procurement process and supplier management, with strong emphasis placed on managing a supplier base for both products and services. Elements examined include the strategic role of procurement in supply chains, the identification and evaluation of requirements, the strategic make-versus-buy decision, how to identify, evaluate, and select potential suppliers and conduct a post-purchase evaluation; and the impact of information technology on strategic procurement. Both theoretical and quantitative perspectives will be offered. In addition, the topics will be addressed from strategic, financial, and global perspectives. In light of these perspectives, the course objectives are to develop a comprehensive understanding of: (1) the supplier selection and evaluation process (2) the relationship between product design and the supplier base (3) the types of relationships that exist between buyers and sellers (4) the impact of information technology on strategic purchasing and supply management. Students will also develop skills in using quantitative tools to select and evaluate suppliers. This is the third of three prescribed foundation courses in the Supply Chain and Information Systems major.
SCM 496 – Indep Studies (Variable)
Creative projects, including research and design, that are supervised on an individual basis and that fall outside the scope of formal courses.
SCM 820 – Strategic Procurement (4)
GE cohort
Selected Publications
This paper won the 2020 Chan Hahn Best Paper Award at the Academy of Management Conference, Operations and Supply Chain Management Division.
This paper won the 2019 Jack Meredith Best Paper Award at the Journal of Operations Management.
An earlier version of this paper was a finalist for the 2012 Chan Hahn Best Paper Award at the Academy of Conference, Operations Management Division
This paper was chosen as a finalist for the Student Paper Competition in two conferences: The 2010 POMS Conference (College of Supply Chain Management) and the 2010 Academy of Management Meeting (Operations Management Division)
This paper was chosen as one of the 2009 Best Paper Award Finalist at Decision Sciences Journal