On the morning of September 5, 2025, CUFE Business School successfully held the 27th Session of 2025 Excellent Academic Forum in Conference Room 615 of the Main Teaching Building at the Xueyuan South Road Campus. Dr. Zhi Bangdong, Assistant Professor of Operational Management Analytics at the University of Bristol Business School (UK), was specially invited as the keynote speaker. Teachers, doctoral students, master’s students of CUFE Business School, and scholars from other universities participated in this academic event.
The lecture was hosted by Professor Liu Xiaohong of CUFE Business School. Before the event, Professor Liu Xiaohong gave a detailed introduction to Dr. Zhi Bangdong’s academic background. Dr. Zhi Bangdong obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Bristol Business School and his master’s degree from CUFE Business School. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Operational Management Analytics and Doctoral Supervisor at the University of Bristol Business School. His research focuses on supply chain finance, supply chain risk management, platform economy, and electric vehicle services. His research results have been published in international journals such as IISE Transactions, European Journal of Operational Research, Decision Support Systems, Omega, International Journal of Production Economics, and Computers and Operations Research, with a total of more than ten papers published. In addition, Dr. Zhi also serves as a reviewer for several international journals.
The theme of Dr. Zhi Bangdong’s lecture was "Deployment and Pricing Strategies for Different Generations of Battery Swap Stations". Against the background of the accelerated popularization of electric vehicles, he discussed the importance of battery swap services as a faster energy supplement method than plug-in charging. The research analyzed two deployment strategies for battery swap stations:
Incremental Deployment Strategy: Prioritizing the construction of current-generation swap stations to achieve early expansion;
Leapfrog Deployment Strategy: Prioritizing the construction of next-generation swap stations to drive later-stage expansion.
Through model analysis, the study revealed the two-way network effects of "service-user" and "user-service". It pointed out that increasing the number of current-generation swap stations can encourage the deployment of next-generation swap stations, forming a "forward infrastructure momentum". At the same time, the deployment of next-generation swap stations can also reversely promote the early construction of current-generation swap stations, forming a "backward infrastructure momentum"—however, this requires service providers to have a more strategic vision.
The research also found that technological progress may slow down the deployment speed of next-generation swap stations, while continuous improvement in service speed may prompt service providers to prioritize the construction of current-generation swap stations, so as to leverage the user-service network effect to maximize profits. Dr. Zhi’s research provides important practical guidance for the pricing and deployment strategies of battery swap service providers. At the end of the lecture, Dr. Zhi specifically encouraged young scholars and doctoral students to conduct more localized research based on the unique background of China’s electric vehicle market, and contribute Chinese wisdom to the global energy transition.
After the lecture, teachers and students present conducted in-depth discussions around the theme of the lecture, covering topics such as the deployment optimization of battery swap stations, the pricing strategy of electric vehicle services, the application of two-way network effects, and the path of localized research. This further promoted the exchange and inspiration of academic ideas.
As an important platform for CUFE Business School to fulfill its mission of "contributing new management knowledge", the "Excellent Academic Forum" is committed to focusing on cutting-edge issues in the field of business administration and Chinese enterprise management practice. It gathers global wisdom and innovative perspectives to provide theoretical support and practical paths for promoting the sustainable development of Chinese society and economy.
