【主讲】Meng Li，休斯顿大学C.T. Bauer商学院副教授
【主题】AI and procurement
【时间】2021年11月4日（周四） 10:00am – 11:30am
【地点】腾讯会议ID：455 743 896
【语言】英语
【主办】管理科学与工程系
【Speaker】Meng Li, Associate Professor, Bauer Fellow and PhD coordinator for supply chain, C.T. Bauer College of Business of University of Houston.
【Topic】AI and procurement
【Time】Thursday, November 4, 2021, 10:00am – 11:30am
【Venue】Tencent meeting: 455 743 896
【Language】English
【Organizer】Department of Management Science and Engineering
Abstract: In a world advancing toward Artificial Intelligence (AI), we explore how AI creates and delivers value in procurement. AI has two unique abilities: automation and smartness, which are associated with physical machines or software that enable us to operate more efficiently and effectively. In this research, we study how buyers' usage of AI affects suppliers' price quoting strategies. Specifically, we study the impact of automation—i.e., the buyer uses a chat-bot to automatically inquire prices instead of asking in person—and the impact of smartness—i.e., the buyer signals the usage of a smart AI algorithm in selecting the supplier. We collaborate with a trading company to run a field experiment on an online platform in which we compare suppliers' wholesale price quotes across female, male, and chat-bot buyer types under AI and no recommendation conditions. We find that, when not equipped with a smart control, there is price discrimination against chat-bot buyers who receive a higher wholesale price quote than human buyers. However, signaling the use of a smart recommendation system can effectively reduce suppliers' price quote for chat-bot buyers. We also show that AI delivers the most value when buyers adopt automation and smartness simultaneously in procurement.
Bio: Meng Li is an Associate Professor, Bauer Fellow and PhD coordinator for supply chain at C.T. Bauer College of Business of University of Houston. His recent research interests focus on platform and AI. His research has appeared in Management Science, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, and Strategic Management Journal, among others. He is a Senior Editor for Production and Operations Management, and an Associate Editor for Decision Sciences Journal. His awards include the second place of 2019 JFIG paper competition, the Finalist of 2021 MSOM Service Management SIG award, and the Finalist of 2019 Best Service Science Paper from INFORMS, and the 2019 Chancellor’s Awards for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity and the 2018 Superior Achievement Award for Research from Rutgers.
