Technology & Operations Management
-
-
- 2025
- Working Paper
How Firms Respond to Worker Activism: Evidence from Global Supply Chains
By: Yanhua Bird, Jodi L. Short and Michael W. ToffelSocial movement pressures can lead organizations to concede and improve social performance to avoid disruption costs, but we theorize that such responses evoke concession costs that prompt organizations to shift resources and attention from other social domains whose performance suffers. We test this theory by examining tradeoffs global supply chain factories make when responding to local worker activism, evidenced by varying compliance with multinational enterprises’ (MNEs’) labor standards. Analyzing audit data from thousands of Chinese suppliers, we find that suppliers in cities with more wage-related activism increased compliance with MNEs’ wage-related standards but tempered improvement in occupational health and safety. This tradeoff is more pronounced in factories with unions and high-powered productivity incentives, suggesting internal governance structures shape how suppliers respond to social movement pressures.
- 2025
- Working Paper
How Firms Respond to Worker Activism: Evidence from Global Supply Chains
By: Yanhua Bird, Jodi L. Short and Michael W. ToffelSocial movement pressures can lead organizations to concede and improve social performance to avoid disruption costs, but we theorize that such responses evoke concession costs that prompt organizations to shift resources and attention from other social domains whose performance suffers. We test this theory by examining tradeoffs global supply...
-
- May–June 2025
- Article
Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces
By: Santiago Gallino, Nil Karacaoglu and Antonio MorenoMost online sales worldwide take place in marketplaces that connect sellers and buyers. The presence of numerous third-party sellers leads to a proliferation of listings for each product, making it difficult for customers to choose between the available options. Online marketplaces adopt algorithmic tools to curate how the different listings for a product are presented to customers. This paper focuses on one such tool, the Buybox, that algorithmically chooses one option to be presented prominently to customers as a default option. We leveraged the staggered introduction of the Buybox within a prominent product category in a leading online marketplace to study how the Buybox impacts marketplace dynamics. Our findings indicate that adopting Buybox results in a substantial increase in marketplace orders and visits. Implementing Buybox reduces the frictions customers and sellers face. On the customer side, we find a reduction of search frictions, evidenced by an increase in conversion rates and a higher impact of Buybox on the mobile channel, which has significantly higher search frictions than desktop channel. On the seller side, the number of sellers offering a product increases following the implementation of Buybox. Customers benefit from lower prices and higher average quality levels when competition in Buyboxes is high. After the introduction of the Buybox, the marketplace also becomes more concentrated. Our paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on the role of algorithms in platforms by examining how algorithmic curation impacts the participants of the marketplace as well as the marketplace dynamics.
- May–June 2025
- Article
Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces
By: Santiago Gallino, Nil Karacaoglu and Antonio MorenoMost online sales worldwide take place in marketplaces that connect sellers and buyers. The presence of numerous third-party sellers leads to a proliferation of listings for each product, making it difficult for customers to choose between the available options. Online marketplaces adopt algorithmic tools to curate how the different listings for a...
About the Unit
As the world of operations has changed, so have interests and priorities within the Unit. Historically, the TOM Unit focused on manufacturing and the development of physical products. Over the past several years, we have expanded our research, course development, and course offerings to encompass new issues in information technology, supply chains, and service industries.
The field of TOM is concerned with the design, management, and improvement of operating systems and processes. As we seek to understand the challenges confronting firms competing in today's demanding environment, the focus of our work has broadened to include the multiple activities comprising a firm's "operating core":
- the multi-function, multi-firm system that includes basic research, design, engineering, product and process development and production of goods and services within individual operating units;
- the networks of information and material flows that tie operating units together and the systems that support these networks;
- the distribution and delivery of goods and services to customers.
Recent Publications
FinSec Bank: Charting an AI Course—Build or Buy?
- June 2025 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
How Firms Respond to Worker Activism: Evidence from Global Supply Chains
- 2025 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces
- May–June 2025 |
- Article |
- Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
Krenetech Solutions (B): The AI Curveball
- May 2025 |
- Supplement |
- Faculty Research
Krenetech Solutions (A): The AI Co-Pilot – A Test of Generative Leadership
- May 2025 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Ghassan Nuqul and the Nuqul Group: Preserving a Father's Legacy
- May 2025 |
- Teaching Plan |
- Faculty Research
Calyx Global: Rating Carbon Credits
- May 2025 |
- Teaching Note |
- Faculty Research
'Net Zero in Action': Impact Investing at the McKnight Foundation
- May 2025 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Harvard Business Publishing
Seminars & Conferences
There are no upcoming events.