Jiawen Gao

Background

I am an MSc by Research student in Design Thinking, with research interests focused on brand contagion in geographical indication (GI) food supply chains. My work examines how reputational crises triggered by individual actors can diffuse beyond firm boundaries and undermine the collective value of GI labels.

My research pays particular attention to the institutional and supply-chain characteristics of GI systems, where brands are collectively owned and reputations are jointly constructed. Rather than adopting a purely consumer- or firm-centric perspective, I investigate how multiple stakeholders—such as producers, enterprises, and public governance actors—respond strategically to brand contagion under conditions of shared reputation and interdependence. This allows for a more process-oriented understanding of how brand crises emerge, spread, and are managed in GI contexts.

Methodologically, I adopt a mixed qualitative–analytical approach, combining comparative case studies with evolutionary game analysis. Case studies are used to identify key mechanisms and governance challenges associated with brand contagion, while evolutionary game models are employed to explore the dynamic interactions and strategic stability of stakeholder responses over time. Through this research, I aim to contribute to debates on collective brand governance, risk management, and institutional design in agri-food supply chains.

Research opportunities

- Brand contagion and reputational spillovers in collective and shared-brand contexts

- Geographical indication (GI) food supply chains and collective reputation governance

- Multi-actor crisis response and strategic interaction in agri-food systems

- Horizontal risk diffusion and vertical governance mechanisms in supply chains

- Institutional design and public–private co-governance in GI systems

- Evolutionary game theory applied to supply chain governance and risk management

- Comparative case study methods for complex socio-economic systems

- Design thinking approaches to systemic risk, governance, and stakeholder coordination

Current activities

I am currently conducting an MSc by Research project on brand contagion in geographical indication (GI) food supply chains, with particular attention to collective reputation and the diffusion of reputational crises. My work involves comparative case studies to examine how brand-related shocks emerge and spread under different governance arrangements within GI systems. In parallel, I am developing evolutionary game models to analyse strategic interactions among producers, enterprises, and public governance actors in response to crisis situations. Alongside empirical and analytical work, I am undertaking an interdisciplinary review of literature spanning supply chain management, institutional theory, and design thinking to support theory building and research design. I am also engaged in ongoing research training activities, including qualitative methods, research ethics, and data management.