Overview

From creating flight itineraries online, to interacting with tellers to complete complex banking transactions, to engaging with the government to address civic problems, customers are playing an increasingly vital role in the performance of operations in a broadening array of settings. This trend is fueled by rising demand for service customization, competitive pressures that compel organizations to do more with less, and technological advances that boost the frequency and intensity of customer involvement in operations. Taken together, these dynamics call for a more thorough understanding of how customer-facing operations should be designed, managed, and improved. Professor Buell’s research and course development investigate how operations can better incorporate customers in the joint creation of value. In particular, he studies how the transparency dynamics in operations shape the perceptions and behaviors of both customers and employees, and how managers can proactively design those dynamics to improve operating performance. This line of inquiry is especially relevant in service settings, in which customers often engage materially in the value creation process and consequently have greater influence over outcomes than in other contexts.