
Enter the Research Conversation with Jin Fang
How can a business select a facility location considering both location characteristics and rival effects within a business cluster?
Facility location selection problem is to identify the optimal location, which satisfies several predefined selection factors. Traditional studies prioritized the location almost entirely from the perspective of location characteristics, and they did not consider the rival effects among facility locations, nor view these facility locations holistically as a business cluster. My research has presented an analytical model of facility location that takes both location characteristics (rent, distance, crime rate, customer rating, size and features) and rival effects that exist in the business cluster into account.
My research provides a powerful and innovative analytical decision-making tool for facility location selection, which is applicable in other industries such as tourism, manufacturing, and transportation. The real-world case analysis in my research demonstrates the applicability and ease of use of our model in facility location decision problems.
Status
PhD Candidate
Area of Research
Facility location decision and social network analysis
Hometown
Jiangsu Province, China
Fast Fact
I learned to play Guzheng, a Chinese string instrument with a more than 2,500-year history, at the age of seven. I also know how to cook Huaiyang cuisine, one of the Four Great Traditions in Chinese cuisine and usually offered during the state banquet.