Dr. Sam Solaimani

I find it extremely intriguing to think along with companies about their digital and operations transformation and the underlying complexities, driven by pragmatism and creativity, with a holistic approach, but mainly focused on measurable impact.

Dr. Sam Solaimani is Associate Professor at Nyenrode Business University. He is specialized in Operational Excellence, Enterprise/Process Analysis & Architecture, Lean Six Sigma, Supply Chain Management and the role of emerging technologies (such as data analytics, AI, RPA, blockchain, additive manufacturing, etc.) in these domains.

Solaimani's research is mainly driven by his national and international collaboration with MNEs and SMEs across various sectors. Based on these collaborations, he has published many articles in prestigious academic journals, including Supply Chain Management: An International Journal (SCMIJ), Journal of Business Research (JBR), European Management Review (EMR), Information Systems Frontiers (ISF), Technological Forecasting and Social Change (TFSC). He is a member of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS), International Community of Production and Operations Management Society (POMS), European Operations Management Association (EUROmA), and a regular reviewer for several publishers, including Journal of Business Ethics, TFSC, ISF, and Electronic Markets.

Solaimani holds a PhD from Delft University of Technology with a focus on business model innovation and operations transformation within complex supply chains; MSc with honor (Cum Laude) in Business Information Systems (University of Amsterdam); BSc in Information Science (Utrecht University); and many certifications, including Lean Master Trainer by Mckinsey & Company, Lean Black Belt, Scaled Agile Framework (SPC), PRINCE II, TOGAF, ArchiMate, AnyLogic and various qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Secondary positions

Solaimani is Senior Manager at Valcon Netherlands (formerly First Consulting), a fast-growing consultancy focused on strategically driven operations improvement and transformation, enabled by a mix of process, data, technology, and change. 

International activities

Solaimani has been visiting scholar at various universities and research institutes including:

• Center for Open Innovation at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, USA
• Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
• The SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai, India
• Institute for Advanced Management Systems Research, Åbo Akademi & Turku School of Economics, Turku, Finland
• School of Economics and Finance, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
• Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland

Interests

Traveling, reading books, playing chess and building little robots.

Most relevant publications

• Solaimani, S., van Eck, T., Kievit, H., & Koelemeijer, K. (2022). An exploration of the applicability of Lean Startup in small non-digital firms: an effectuation perspective. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 28(9), 198-218
• Solaimani, S., & van der Veen, J. (2022). Open supply chain innovation: an extended view on supply chain collaboration. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 27(5), 597-610.
• Solaimani, S., Parandian, A., & Nabi Nabiollahi. (2021), “A Holistic View on Sustainability in Additive and Subtractive Manufacturing: A Comparative Empirical Study of Eyewear Production Systems”, Sustainability, 13(19), 10775.
• Solaimani, S., & Sedighi, M. (2020), “Toward a holistic view on Lean sustainable construction: a literature review”, Journal of Cleaner Production, 248.
• Solaimani, S., Haghighi Talab, A, & Van Der Rhee, B. (2019), “An integrative view on Lean innovation management”, Journal of Business Research, 105 (Dec.), 109-120. 
• Solaimani, S., Veen, J.v.d., Sobek II, D.K., Gulyaz, E. and Venugopal, V. (2019), “On the application of Lean principles and practices to innovation management: A systematic review”, The TQM Journal, 31(6), 1064-1092.
• Solaimani, S., Heikkilä, M., & Bouwman, H. (2018), “Business model implementation within networked enterprises: A case study on a Finnish pharmaceutical project”, European Management Review, 15(1), 79-96.