New research found live chats can boost sales and profits by increasing purchase probability by 15.9%. Sellers with limited feedback benefit most from live chat conversations, while products with high past sales volume sell better after interaction.
A new study found that nearly 80% of bike-share usage comes from areas within 1,000 feet of stations, and a 10% increase in bike availability increases ridership by more than 12%. Increasing bike availability is key to maximizing bike-share ridership.
Research shows that collaborating on waiting area entertainment can increase revenue and customer loyalty. By working together, businesses can offset high operational costs and compete on other dimensions like prices.
A new study suggests that increasing quality transparency in healthcare can improve social welfare in the short-term, but may have negative effects in the long-term. Policymakers should target specific patient populations, such as younger or urban patients, and incentivize hospitals to make socially optimal investments.
A study found that users view native ads as advertisements and use them to evaluate advertisers. Users who see native ads continue their search and are more likely to click on the advertiser's organic listings and make a purchase.
A new study by Emory University researchers found a nearly 15% increase in drug abuse treatment admissions and a 6% increase in overdose deaths since Craigslist's founding. Online platforms like Craigslist provide anonymity, driving previously unaffected populations into the market.
A study by INFORMS journal Organization Science found that one additional woman on the board results in a 2.3% decrease in market value on average, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. This negative effect is amplified for firms with higher diversity ratings across the organization.
A study by INFORMS journal Marketing Science found that data records used in targeted advertising are not as reliable as assumed, with accuracy rates varying between demographics and interests. The researchers conducted field tests to assess the effectiveness of third-party consumer profiling and found mixed results.
A new study reveals that taxi drivers use trip selection to optimize their earnings rather than increasing the number of trips or working hours. Mobile hailing apps enable drivers to choose longer, larger-fare trips, improving hourly earnings and reducing cruising time between trips.
Research found that consumers discount positive influencer recommendations for products with high variety, questioning the quality of the product. Increasing product variety can lead to increased sales, but firms must adjust strategies to influence consumer quality inference and purchase decisions.
A new study published in Management Science found that online retailers' delivery strategies can significantly impact customer loyalty and sales. Popular products, especially those with high prices and limited discounts, suffer the most without a reliable delivery service.
New research published in INFORMS journal Transportation Science reveals that optimizing delivery driver shifts can reduce pick-up time by up to 50%, while choosing restaurants closer to the drop-off location can reduce delivery time by 17%. Additionally, order bundling has a limited cost improvement of less than half a percent.
A new study of 96 studies found that behavioral-oriented nudges, particularly size enhancements, can improve eating habits six times more effectively than previously thought. Reducing portion sizes of unhealthy foods appears to be the best way to achieve this.
A new mathematical optimization model introduced in the INFORMS journal Transportation Science can reduce extreme flight delays by as much as 20-30% on average, while increasing crew salary costs by only 2-3%. This approach allows airlines to balance delay reduction with buffer placement costs.
Researchers analyzed 1,309 gamers' playing history over 29 months, finding that varying game difficulty based on players' engagement levels increases use by 4-8%. The study suggests introducing surprises like new maps or game modes to offset decreased player curiosity.
A new study published in INFORMS Journal Marketing Science found that AI chatbots can increase sales by four times compared to inexperienced workers. However, customer awareness of the use of AI chatbots before making a purchase leads to a significant decline in sales rates.
Researchers found that reducing commissions on popular items can boost sales, while offering incentives to sales reps is more cost-effective than discounting to consumers. The study's findings provide insights for companies looking to optimize their sales strategies.
Research found that negative posts receive more comments than positive ones and tend to attract more attention, highlighting the need for companies to respond to negative content strategically. The study analyzed data from 12,000 posts from Fortune 500 companies, finding a nearly 2:1 ratio of negative to positive posts on business pages.
A new study by Evgeny Kagan and colleagues found that incentive clauses in contracts work best for high-performing team members, while those who may not be high performers do not benefit from incentives. The researchers suggest delaying contracting to learn about team member personalities and adjusting contract structures accordingly.
Researchers develop a model to control empty car flow in geographic locations to optimize system-wide functionality, directing cars to different locations instead of waiting at the same spot. The algorithm calculates availability of empty cars when requested and finds new passengers quickly at destinations.
A new study in INFORMS journal Management Science proposes a two-part method combining the donor-priority rule and freeze-period to increase organ quality and quantity. The solution is estimated to boost social welfare by $235 million a year and add 18 years to patient life expectancy, while increasing organ availability by 13%.
A new study by Thanh Nguyen and Rakesh Vohra proposes a solution that balances parental choice with diversity goals, using school choice programs to assign students to their preferred schools. This approach aims to close the opportunity gap while allowing parents to have a say in where their child attends school.
Research shows that retail mobile apps increase sales, purchase frequency, and product diversity, both online and in-store. App users return products 35% more frequently, while also spending more overall.
New research reveals that 36% of post-market studies for pre-approved prescription drugs were not completed, with 50% taking an average of 5 years to begin. The study suggests that manufacturers lack incentive to complete these studies due to lax enforcement and high costs.
Researchers found that hospital advertising increases patient choice, with wealthy patients and those living far from hospitals responding well. However, a blanket ban on hospital advertising can lead to increased hospital readmissions by up to 1.2 per 100 discharges.
A new study found that off-service patient placement contributes to a 23% longer hospital stay and a higher chance of being readmitted within 30 days. The research also reveals that this practice leads to nearly 4,000 additional patient-days per year.
New research found that word-of-mouth referrals from the platform community drive anime watching decisions and behaviors, outperforming following someone else's lead or observed adoptions. A person's community network is the primary source of information driving their decision-making.
A new research study suggests that redesigning the contract for the Medicare Shared Savings Program could lead to significant cost savings. The proposed changes aim to align provider incentives with performance-based subsidies, increasing reimbursement payments and improving healthcare outcomes.
New research shows that tabletop devices can improve restaurant service and customer satisfaction, increasing sales per minute by 11%. Tabletop technology allows customers to view menu items, re-order beverages, and pay for meals, reducing meal duration by 10% and boosting sales by 1% per check.
A new study finds that recreational marijuana legalization leads to a 8% increase in online searches for tobacco products, while searches for alcohol drop by 11%. However, the study also reveals that teenagers lose interest in cannabis after its legalization, contradicting common concerns about increased teen usage.
Researchers found that drivers who switch insurance companies bring higher risk than 'equivalent own' customers, with a 21% higher cost to serve. Higher-risk drivers tend to be with an insurer for less than two years and generate more claims.
Researchers found that higher education institutions with more prestige have narrowed the gender pay gap among their female presidents. At these top-ranked universities, women's total compensation often surpasses male counterparts', with some even earning more than men.
A study analyzing data from 2,806 product placements found that embedded placements have a positive impact on online conversations and website traffic. Verbal product placements were more impactful than visual ones, suggesting they are processed deeper by viewers.
A new study published in Management Science found that post-release piracy increases revenue by 3% due to word of mouth effects, while pre-release piracy has a negative impact. The researchers used real-world data from online piracy sites and analyzed the effect on movie revenues.
Airbnb's flexible lodging capacity can help stabilize demand during peak travel seasons, offsetting higher hotel prices. The platform disrupts traditional pricing strategies in some markets, minimizing seasonal pricing needs. Higher-end hotels are most affected by Airbnb's business traveler targeting
In the INFORMS O.R. & Analytics Student Team Competition, student teams from around the world used operations research (OR) and analytics to optimize autonomous vehicle delivery processes for General Motors. The winning team from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology minimized total costs while satisfying all constraints.
Booz Allen Hamilton received the 2019 INFORMS Prize for its pioneering integration of operations research (O.R.) and analytics programs. The company consolidated its O.R. talent into a single, centralized organization to enhance cross-disciplinary exchanges and accelerate internal research projects.
The University of Cincinnati's Department of Operations, Business Analytics and Information Systems has been awarded the 2019 UPS George D. Smith Prize for its innovative curriculum, which prepares students to become effective practitioners in business analytics. The prize recognizes the department's long history of excellence in worki...
The Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District and Tetra Tech won the 2019 INFORMS Edelman Award for their successful implementation of Csoft, a software solution that maximizes storage, conveyance, and treatment capacities to better protect the environment. The project has saved over $200 million in infrastructure costs and improved commu...
Researchers found that TV viewers who multitask and engage in social media activity during specific programs experience increased online shopping behavior. The study also revealed that the type of ad can impact the effectiveness of this phenomenon.
Researchers found that a faster response to negative celebrity endorser publicity increases firm value by 2.10% over four trading weeks. Companies can benefit from suspending or maintaining the celebrity endorser, depending on the situation.
Researchers identified a new protocol to prioritize HCV treatment in US prisons, considering factors like liver health state, sentence length, and injection drug use. The approach aims to reduce hepatitis C-caused mortality and infections, both in prisons and the community.
Researchers found that commonly used observational approaches often fail to accurately measure ad effectiveness, overestimating its impact. Large-scale randomized controlled trials are considered the gold standard for evaluating ad campaigns.
Researchers found that machine learning can identify customer needs from user-generated content (UGC) more accurately and efficiently than traditional methods. The approach uses machine learning to analyze UGC data and remove redundancies, followed by human analysis to formulate customer needs.
Research found that users of usage-based insurance (UBI) improve their driving safety while enrolled, allowing them to control premium costs. UBI also shows promise in reducing hard braking incidents by up to 21% after six months.
A new study published in Marketing Science found that the 'buddy system' approach to weight loss can be effective, with top performers inspiring others to lose weight. However, individual results vary and depend on the impact of peer comparisons.
A recent study found that data and predictive analytics can help address the issue of bank overdraft fees, which are a significant source of revenue for banks. The researchers developed policy simulations to show that alternative pricing strategies can increase bank revenue while improving consumer welfare.
Cornell University and Uber researchers developed a system to optimize bike docking stations and create an incentive scheme to crowdsource rebalancing. The approach improved performance in New York City and San Francisco, reducing costs and environmental impact.
A recent study published in Marketing Science proposes a semantic approach to estimating consumer content preferences from online search queries. The researchers used a topic model that combines information from multiple search queries and their associated search results to establish context for individual search terms.
A new study found that managerial responses to online reviews can stimulate negative review production and increase reviewing activity. The researchers studied online reviews of hotels and analyzed data from portals like TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Hotels.com.