Technology & Operations Management
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- 2025
- Working Paper
Designing Consent: Choice Architecture and Consumer Welfare in Data Sharing
By: Chiara Farronato, Audrey Fradkin and Tesary LinWe study the welfare consequences of choice architecture for online privacy using a field experiment that randomizes cookie consent banners. We study three ways in which firms or policymakers can influence choices: (1) nudging users through banner design to encourage acceptance of cookie tracking; (2) setting defaults when users dismiss banners; and (3) implementing consent decisions at the website versus browser level. Absent design manipulation, users accept all cookies more than half of the time. Placing cookie options behind extra clicks strongly influences choices, shifting users toward more easily accessible alternatives. Many users dismiss banners without making an explicit choice, underscoring the importance of default settings. Survey evidence further reveals substantial confusion about default settings. Using a structural model, we find that among consent policies requiring site-specific decisions, consumer surplus is maximized when consent interfaces clearly display all options and default to acceptance in the absence of an explicit choice. However, the welfare gains from optimizing banner design are much smaller than those from adopting browser-level consent, which eliminates the time costs of repeated decisions.
- 2025
- Working Paper
Designing Consent: Choice Architecture and Consumer Welfare in Data Sharing
By: Chiara Farronato, Audrey Fradkin and Tesary LinWe study the welfare consequences of choice architecture for online privacy using a field experiment that randomizes cookie consent banners. We study three ways in which firms or policymakers can influence choices: (1) nudging users through banner design to encourage acceptance of cookie tracking; (2) setting defaults when users dismiss banners;...
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- 2025
- Working Paper
Where Discovery Happens: Research Institutions and Fundamental Knowledge in the Life-Sciences
By: Amitabh Chandra and Connie XuFundamental knowledge in the life sciences has consequential implications for medicine and subsequent medical innovations. Using publications in leading life science journals to measure fundamental knowledge, we document large agglomerations in the institutions where it is discovered and a robust correlation between knowledge and subsequent citations in patents. We assess whether the institution where research is produced affects the output of scientists by using a scientist-mover design, which compares annual research output before and after a move for the same scientist. Between 50 60% of a scientist’s research output is attributable to the institution where they work, and two thirds of this effect is driven by the presence of star researchers. The magnitude of these effects has not decreased in more recent time periods, in the wake of technologies that make cross-institution collaborations easier, nor is it larger for moves to larger agglomerations, nor concentrated in particular scientific fields. We discuss the implications of these findings for research allocations in science and scientists’ leaving one institution for another.
- 2025
- Working Paper
Where Discovery Happens: Research Institutions and Fundamental Knowledge in the Life-Sciences
By: Amitabh Chandra and Connie XuFundamental knowledge in the life sciences has consequential implications for medicine and subsequent medical innovations. Using publications in leading life science journals to measure fundamental knowledge, we document large agglomerations in the institutions where it is discovered and a robust correlation between knowledge and subsequent...
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- July 2025
- Case
The Future in Sight: LumineticsCore and the First Autonomous AI for Diagnostics
By: Michael Lingzhi Li and Tinglong DaiAfter two decades of research, Dr. Michael Abramoff successfully launched LumineticsCore—the first autonomous AI system authorized by the FDA to diagnose diabetic retinopathy without physician oversight. The case traces his journey across algorithm design, clinical validation, regulatory navigation, and the challenges of real-world adoption. It explores the interplay between technological innovation and healthcare institutions, highlighting the need to establish evaluation metrics grounded in clinical outcomes rather than physician consensus. As adoption lags despite regulatory approval, Abramoff faces decisions about which operational, reimbursement, and trust-building barriers to prioritize—decisions that may shape not only LumineticsCore’s future but also the broader path of AI in medicine.
- July 2025
- Case
The Future in Sight: LumineticsCore and the First Autonomous AI for Diagnostics
By: Michael Lingzhi Li and Tinglong DaiAfter two decades of research, Dr. Michael Abramoff successfully launched LumineticsCore—the first autonomous AI system authorized by the FDA to diagnose diabetic retinopathy without physician oversight. The case traces his journey across algorithm design, clinical validation, regulatory navigation, and the challenges of real-world adoption. It...
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
Designing Consent: Choice Architecture and Consumer Welfare in Data Sharing
- 2025 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Where Discovery Happens: Research Institutions and Fundamental Knowledge in the Life-Sciences
- 2025 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
The Future in Sight: LumineticsCore and the First Autonomous AI for Diagnostics
- July 2025 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Productivity Beliefs and Efficiency in Science
- 2025 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Small Business Innovation Applied to National Needs
- 2025 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Arla Foods: Data-Driven Decarbonization
- June 2025 |
- Teaching Note |
- 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
Harvard Business Publishing
Seminars & Conferences
There are no upcoming events.