In the newsvendor problem, a pull-to-center effect has been asserted, whereby subjects are said to order a quantity between the mean of the demand distribution and the expected profit-maximizing quantity. These claims have only been examined using group-level aggregate statistics. Looking at...

Outsourcing of equipment repair and restoration is commonly practiced by firms across many industries. The operational performance of the equipment is determined by joint decisions of both the firm and the service provider. Although some decisions are verifiable (and thus directly contractible),...

We analyze optimal contractual arrangements in a bilateral R and D partnership between a risk-averse provider that conducts early-stage research, followed by a regulatory verification stage, and a risk-neutral client that performs late-stage development activities, including production,...

We compare two strategies for outsourcing the development of information services projects: multisourcing and single-sourcing. We model these sourcing strategies when incentive contracts are based on a verifiable project metric that may or may not be aligned with the project outcome. We also...

This study compares the efficacy of some commonly observed vendor selection and contracting mechanisms with respect to two key challenges in service outsourcing: vendor selection and contract efficiency. We show that competitive bidding yields good selection but contract inefficiency (positive...

We study incentive alignment to coordinate operations in humanitarian settings. Our research focuses on transportation, the second largest overhead cost to humanitarian organizations after personnel. Motivated by field research, we study the fleet size problem from a managerial perspective. In...

Problem definition: Many studies have examined quantitative customer reviews (i.e., star ratings) and found them to be a reliable source of information that has a positive effect on product demand. Yet the effect of qualitative customer reviews (i.e., text reviews) on demand has been less...

Problem denition: Studies have shown that the behavior of subjects in newsvendor experiments is not consistent with expected profit maximization - an assumption that is often made in operations management literature. Although prospect theory has been established as a popular model of behavioral...

Problem definition: The premise of this paper is that labor malpractice is not solely a corporate social responsibility and human resources issue; rather, its incidence is critically driven by operational decisions. We thus develop and test hypotheses to identify key operational drivers of labor...

We consider contracting issues in the care of patients with chronic conditions within the principal-agent framework. The government, acting as a principal, contracts with several health care providers in an effort to maximise population health minus the cost. We consider the decision of whether...