Technology & Operations Management

Technology & Operations Management

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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

Accuracy Obsession: Humans Prioritize Immaterial AI Accuracy Over Their Own Compensation - Unless We Educate Them

By: Matt DosSantos DiSorbo and Kris Ferreira
  • 2025 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
Related

ODI Grips: A Hands-On Generative AI Prompting Exercise for Social Media Content Creation

By: Iavor I Bojinov, Jacob M. Cook, Yufan (Frank) Lin, Yiwen Chen, In-Hye Kang and Randy Stein
  • September 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Related

ODI Grips: A Hands-On Generative AI Prompting Exercise for Customer Support Chatbots

By: Iavor I Bojinov, Jacob M. Cook, Yufan (Frank) Lin, Yiwen Chen, In-Hye Kang and Randy Stein
  • September 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Related

VOCEL (A) and (B)

By: Elisabeth Paulson, Christopher T. Ryan and Nanxi Zhang
  • September 2025 |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
Related

VOCEL (A) and (B)

By: Elisabeth Paulson, Christopher T. Ryan and Nanxi Zhang
  • September 2025 |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 625-081 and 625-082.
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The GenAI Wall Effect: Examining the Limits to Horizontal Expertise Transfer Between Occupational Insiders and Outsiders

By: Luca Vendraminelli, Matthew DosSantos DiSorbo, Annika Hildebrandt, Edward McFowland III, Arvind Karunakaran and Iavor Bojinov
  • 2025 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
As firms continue to seek efficiency by deploying Generative AI (GenAI) tools across various organizational functions, a critical question emerges: When and why does GenAI enable (versus constrain) individuals from one occupational group (i.e., outsiders) to perform tasks assigned to another occupational group (i.e., insiders), with equivalent speed and quality? And does GenAI’s effect diminish as the “knowledge distance” between occupational groups increases? In an experiment conducted at a large UK firm, we examine these questions. Three groups—occupational insiders, adjacent outsiders, and distant outsiders—attempted to both conceptualize as well as execute tasks that are “core” to occupational insiders and were randomly assigned to receive support from a bespoke GenAI tool. We found that a “GenAI wall”—that is, the point at which GenAI can no longer meaningfully reduce the expertise gap between occupational insiders and outsiders—emerged for the joint effect of knowledge distance and task characteristics. Specifically, we found that GenAI is more effective at bridging expertise gaps between near (rather than distant) occupations, and more so for conceptualization (as opposed to execution) tasks. We discuss the implications of these findings for scholarship on occupations, learning, and division of labor in the wake of emerging technologies such as GenAI.
Keywords: GenAI; Human Expertise; Labor Demand; Randomized Experiments; AI and Machine Learning; Performance Efficiency; Knowledge; Experience and Expertise; Labor
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Oriental Weavers: Handing Over the Loom

By: Christina R. Wing and Ahmed Dahawy
  • September 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Over the course of forty years, Oriental Weavers had grown from a modest Egyptian family business into one of the world’s largest manufacturers of machine woven carpets and rugs. Managing a family-led company at that scale was no easy task, but the business was guided by the firm and respected hand of its founder, Mohamed Farid Khamis. After his passing in 2020, his eldest daughter, Yasmine, stepped into his role as chairperson, taking on the responsibility of leading the company through its next chapter. She had spent decades working closely with her father and practically running Oriental Weavers alongside him. But as the company grew more complex and globally integrated, Yasmine became convinced that it needed to evolve—shifting from a family-run enterprise to a professionally governed institution. Determined to build a structure that could outlast the family name, she appointed a non-family CEO and brought in several seasoned executives. Yet handing over the reins proved far from easy. Relatives pushed back, long-serving employees resisted change, and even Yasmine struggled to fully let go. The situation was compounded by lingering challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and a new crisis in 2025, as a wave of U.S. tariffs threatened Oriental Weavers’ most important export market. With the company at a turning point, Yasmine faced a defining question: Should she double down on the leadership changes she had set in motion? Or retake the helm to guide Oriental Weavers through yet another moment of crisis?
Keywords: Family Business; Restructuring; Transformation; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Employee Relationship Management; Job Design and Levels; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Growth Management; Management Succession; Management Teams; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Egypt; United States
Related

Reliable Switchback Experiments with Rerandomization for Auction Environments at Procter & Gamble

By: Tu Ni, Eleni Kalfountzou and Iavor Bojinov
  • 2025 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
Auction environments play an increasingly central role across industries such as transportation, commodities, and media. Companies like Procter & Gamble (P&G) rely on advanced digital solutions to optimize auction performance and must rigorously validate algorithmic changes before wide-scale deployment. Yet standard A/B testing methods are frequently infeasible in these settings because user randomization is not under the control of the auction seller. Switchback experiments, which randomize treatment assignment over discrete time periods, offer a practical alternative but often suffer from low statistical power and are further complicated by potential carryover effects, where previous treatments can affect current outcomes. This paper introduces a new rerandomization-based design that addresses both the issue of achieving adequate covariate balance and the challenges posed by carryover effects. Building on assignment paths from a completely randomized design, we measure covariate imbalance and only accept assignment schedules below a specified threshold, thus enhancing precision. We then propose an analytic adjustment for the practical scenario when the experiment has to be paused, treating disruptions—such as business parameter constraints or technical failures—as fixed yet unknown events that can be incorporated into the variance calibration. Through extensive numerical simulations mimicking real data from the auction environment, we show that our approach substantially boosts efficiency, remains robust to different choices of covariate sets and imbalance thresholds, and adapts well under assignment non-compliance. Since Jan 2025, P&G has integrated the new rerandomization strategy into its experimentation workflow—applying it to 70 experiments across five auction hypotheses in eight global markets. The results indicate a potential 10–20% sales lift and 5–15% cost savings. Beyond its immediate application to switchback experiments at P&G, the methodology underscores a broader principle in data-driven decision-making: carefully engineered randomization, combined with robust analytic strategies that account for real-world implementation challenges, can yield reliable and actionable insights even in complex operational contexts.
Keywords: A/B Testing; Switchback Experiments; Rerandomization; Auctions; Mathematical Methods; Analytics and Data Science; Performance
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Harvard Business Publishing

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Seminars & Conferences

  • 14 Oct 2025

Alex Moehring, Purdue University, Daniels School of Business

Technology & Operations Management (TOM) Seminar
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Faculty Positions

Harvard Business School seeks candidates in all fields for full time positions. Candidates with outstanding records in PhD or DBA programs are encouraged to apply.
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Contact Information

Technology & Operations Management Unit
Harvard Business School
Morgan Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
tomunit@hbs.edu