Kaitlin Wowak
Mendoza College of Business
Associate Professor
- Product recalls
- Supply chain risks and disruptions
- Supply chain knowledge
- Strategic supply chain managementĀ
Wowak’s 91ŹÓʵ
Wowak in the News
Newsweek
September 09, 2025
"When people first see recall trends, it often appears very concerning," said Kaitlin Wowak, an associate professor of IT, analytics and operations at the University of Notre Dame. "However, companies and the FDA do a really good job to ensure products are safe for consumers," she told Newsweek, referring to the Food and Drug Administration.
Fast Company
June 18, 2025
“What’s cool about this paper is . . . by exploring the human element, it really sheds a new light on the firm’s operations and why there’s variability in different operational processes,” said study coauthor Kaitlin Wowak, an associate professor of business analytics at the University of Notre Dame.
phys.org
June 11, 2025
"However, simply adding women directors is not enough," said Kaitlin Wowak, the Robert and Sara Lumpkins Associate Professor of Business Analytics at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. Wowak, along with Yoonseock Son, assistant professor of information technology, analytics and operations at Mendoza, and Corinne Post from Villanova, analyzed a unique dataset covering 1,442 firm-year observations across 266 firms from 2002 to 2011.
Inc.
June 11, 2025
Even so, Kaitlin Wowak, an associate professor of business analytics at Notre Dame, warned that improved workplace safety results weren’t obtained merely by increasing the number of women on boards. It also required them getting male members to take their input seriously, and act upon it. “A board with more women will specifically ask the top management team to report to them on workplace safety,” Notre Dame assistant professor of information technology, analytics and, operations Yoonseock Son told the publication.
The Conversation
June 03, 2024
Yoonseock Son, Assistant Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations, University of Notre Dame; Corey Angst, Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations, University of Notre Dame; Kaitlin Wowak, Associate Professor of IT, Analytics and Operations, University of Notre Dame.
ZME Science
July 05, 2023
Recent research conducted by Nicholas Berente and Kaitlin Wowak from the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business sheds light on the role of behavioral inertia in service center routing and its implications for human-agent interaction.
CBS News
May 11, 2023
"It appears that Peloton may be learning from its past recalls by being more collaborative with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and responding faster than it had with previous product safety issues, such as its treadmill recall," said recall specialist Kaitiln Wowak, an associate professor of IT, analytics, and operations at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.
Inside Indiana Business
Video
December 02, 2022
New research from the University of Notre Dame shows that the sourcing strategy of electronic medical records chosen by hospitals impacts the quality of patient care.
Inside Indiana Business
Video
November 27, 2022
New research from the University of Notre Dame shows for the first time that the sourcing strategy chosen by hospitals impacts the quality of patient care.
Newsweek
October 31, 2022
Kaitlin Wowak, an associate professor of operations management at Notre Dame University, said there are reasons why Americans are hurting for certain items.
Network Indiana
May 18, 2022
Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business Professor Kaitlin Wowak says while pandemic-era shortages of items like masks and sanitizer reflected products being made overseas and imported, most formula for the U-S market is made domestically.
WIBC
Audio
May 16, 2022
Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business Professor Kaitlin Wowak says while pandemic-era shortages of items like masks and sanitizer reflected products being made overseas and imported, most formula for the U.S. market is made domestically.
Fact Check, 10+ others
May 13, 2022
Also, Kaitlin Wowak, professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, noted in an email to us that baby formula is subject to heightened oversight by the FDA.
ANI News, 6+ others
January 26, 2022
"As boards add female directors, recall decisions change. Companies initiate more medical product recalls that are low in severity, which indicates a reduced tendency to hide quality problems that are discretionary. They also make faster recall decisions for the most serious defects that are high in severity and dangerous for customers," said Kaitlin Wowak of the University of Notre Dame.
ABC57
Video
November 23, 2021
“If you are somebody who’s a gift giver who waits until the last minute, you’re likely going to see some empty shelves this holiday season,” Kaitlin Wowak said, Associate Professor of IT, Analytics and Operations at the University of Notre Dame.
Associated Press
September 29, 2021
āI think this is going to go on for a really long time because there are so many factors at play here,ā said Kaitlin Wowak, a management professor at the University of Notre Dame. āAnd itās across the board in so many products.ā
The U.S. Express News, 7+ others
August 24, 2021
New research from theĀ University of Notre Dame focuses on the tendency of call center agents to stick with the status quo.Ā
phys.org
August 17, 2021
"A behavioral perspective on service center routing: The role of inertia" is forthcoming in the Journal of Operations Management from Nicholas Berente, the Viola D. Hank Associate Professor, and Kaitlin Wowak, associate professor of information technology, analytics and operations at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.
Supply Chain Brain
Video
June 16, 2021
Kaitlin Wowak, associate professor of I.T., analytics and operations in theĀ Mendoza College of BusinessĀ at the University of Notre Dame, explains the options that food suppliers have in deciding when and where to initiate a product recall.
Food Safety News
May 25, 2021
New research from the University of Notre Dame could help close the gap and fill theĀ void in the literature between what we know and what we need to know about product recalls.
The Washington Post
May 06, 2021
āYou donāt very often see a company fight a federal agency like this,ā said Kaitlin Wowak, an assistant professor of operations at Notre Dame University, who studies product recalls.
Business Insider
May 06, 2021
Kaitlin Wowak, assistant professor of IT, analytics, and operations at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business who specializes in recalls, said that while Peloton may have learned from its mistakes, its failure to immediately recall the treadmills is troubling.
NPR
May 05, 2021
Kaitlin Wowak, an assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, said there are a number of reasons that companies might initially resist product recalls, including concerns about costs and the cultural dynamics within an organization.
USA Today
March 02, 2021
"You often donāt see such fierce competitors partner to increase production capacity of pharmaceutical products," said °²¹¾±³Ł±ō¾±²ŌĢż°Ā“Ē·É²¹°ģ,Ā assistant professor of IT, analytics and operations at the University of Notre Dameās Mendoza College of Business.Ā
MarketWatch
March 02, 2021
āYou often donāt see such fierce competitors partner to increase production capacity of pharmaceutical products, but unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures,ā saidĀ °²¹¾±³Ł±ō¾±²ŌĢż°Ā“Ē·É²¹°ģ,Ā assistant professor of IT, analytics and operations at the University of Notre Dameās Mendoza College of Business, who specializes in supply chain disruptions including product shortages.
NPR
January 27, 2021
"I think if the vaccine rolls out faster, you're going to be able to get N95s faster," as the risks diminish and fewer people need N95s, saysĀ Kaitlin Wowak, a supply chain expert and assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame.
Ars Technica
January 27, 2021
It's not a new thing, either, according to new research published in Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (Kaitlin Wowak, University of Notre Dame).
Academic Times
January 27, 2021
āFrom the data that we have, we canāt definitely say that companies are strategically sitting on recalls,ā said coauthor Kaitlin Wowak, a professor of information technology, analytics and operations at the University of Notre Dame, in an interview.