Technology & Operations Management

- June 2025
- Case
FinSec Bank: Charting an AI Course—Build or Buy?

By: Michael Parzen
- June 2025
- Case
FinSec Bank: Charting an AI Course—Build or Buy?

By: Michael Parzen
- 2025
- Working Paper
How Firms Respond to Worker Activism: Evidence from Global Supply Chains

By: Yanhua Bird, Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

Social 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. Toffel

Social 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 Moreno

Most 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 Moreno

Most 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?

By: Michael Parzen

June 2025 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Citation

Educators

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How Firms Respond to Worker Activism: Evidence from Global Supply Chains

By: Yanhua Bird, Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

2025 |
Working Paper |
Faculty Research

Social 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.

Keywords: Worker Activism; Labor Standards; Tradeoffs; Global Supply Chains; Internal Governance Structure

Citation

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Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces

By: Santiago Gallino, Nil Karacaoglu and Antonio Moreno

May–June 2025 |
Article |
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

Most 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.

Keywords: Algorithms; Marketplaces; Marketplace Matching; E-commerce; Demand and Consumers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Market Participation; Technology Adoption

Citation

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Krenetech Solutions (B): The AI Curveball

By: Michael Parzen

May 2025 |
Supplement |
Faculty Research

Citation

Krenetech Solutions (A): The AI Co-Pilot – A Test of Generative Leadership

By: Michael Parzen

May 2025 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Citation

Educators

Ghassan Nuqul and the Nuqul Group: Preserving a Father's Legacy

By: Christina R. Wing

May 2025 |
Teaching Plan |
Faculty Research

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 624-030.

Citation

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Calyx Global: Rating Carbon Credits

By: Michael W. Toffel and Adam Chen

May 2025 |
Teaching Note |
Faculty Research

Teaching note to support the Calyx Global: Ratinng Carbon Credits case (HBS No. 625-102)

Citation

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'Net Zero in Action': Impact Investing at the McKnight Foundation

By: Lauren Cohen, Christina R. Wing and Sophia Pan

May 2025 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Elizabeth McGeveran, Vice President of Investments at the McKnight Foundation, reflected on how to effectively advance the organization’s net-zero strategy. The foundation had committed 10% of its endowment to building a portfolio of impact investments and was among the first family foundations to embrace ESG investing—despite the limited availability of robust metrics. McKnight recognized that sustainable investing did not equate to sacrificing returns; in fact, the foundation had already demonstrated its ability to generate competitive performance. Still, leadership acknowledged that some growing pains and short-term deviation from traditional benchmarks were inevitable. The question now was: how could they continue to succeed in their ESG strategy—and, more importantly, position themselves as a market signal, setting higher expectations for fund managers on environmental and social governance?