Managing operational design within innovative retail contexts

Abstract

Improving operational design decisions has the potential to enhance product valuation, trim operational costs, bolster overall profitability, and prioritize critical social issues such as environmental sustainability. My dissertation examines a variety of operational design decisions that arise within two contemporary contexts: (i) selling returned products as open-box, and (ii) curating products within a new subscription-based e-commerce service. I employ tools from econometrics and behavioral sciences to examine how customers response to different operational design options within these contexts, with the goal of identifying the most appropriate design for a given product type or customer segment. My dissertation is comprised of three main studies, with the first focused on context (i) and the others focused on context (ii).