Technology and Operations Management for Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Abstract

Motivated by the adoption and implementation of innovative technologies in business operations, this thesis comprises three chapters that address fundamental questions related tofood supply chain digitization and electric vehicle adoption in ride-hailing services, with a particular focus on their environmental and societal impacts.Chapter 2, joint work with N. Bora Keskin and Jing-Sheng Jeannette Song, examineshow blockchain-enabled freshness transparency influences a grocery retailer’s inventory decisions, profit, and food waste. Formulating and analyzing a freshness-dependent demand model within a newsvendor framework, we derive closed-form expressions for the retailer’s expected profit growth and food waste reduction resulting from technology adoption. However, blockchain adoption can decrease the expected profit of the retailer’s supplier. To address this incentive misalignment, we design a family of freshness-contingent smart contracts and identify conditions under which these contracts create a win-win proposition for both the retailer and the supplier.Chapter 3, joint work with N. Bora Keskin and Jing-Sheng Jeannette Song, investigatesthe competitive advantage of technology adoption for transparency in food supply chains. In a duopoly with freshness-sensitive demand, we examine whether an innovator—the unique adopter of supply transparency technology—gains a competitive edge over a follower who adopts the technology only after its competitor. While the innovator does not always hold an advantage, its advantage grows as consumers place greater value on transparency, ultimately reshaping the market in its favor. Our analysis shows that the innovator reduces more food waste through a market shrinkage effect, wherein the competitor’s market share contracts, easing supply-demand imbalances and lowering the risk of excess inventory. In contrast, the follower’s gains are limited, as the non-adopter passively benefits from the innovator’s proactive choices.Chapter 4, joint work with N. Bora Keskin and Nur Sunar, studies how ride-hailingplatforms incentivize electric vehicle (EV) adoption. To cut carbon emissions, platforms like Uber and Lyft offer incentives to drivers switching to EVs. We develop the first theoretical model analyzing the impact of various incentives—price premiums for EV rides, EV charging discounts, and investment rewards—on platform pricing, profits, and driver surplus. Price premiums are paid by EV riders and passed directly to EV drivers (customer-funded), while charging discounts and investment rewards are funded by the platform. By comparing two types of incentives, we show that when drivers receive a small revenue share, platform-funded incentives yield higher platform profits; otherwise, customer-funded incentives are more profitable. Under a fair revenue split, platform-funded incentives are preferred by platforms for modest EV adoption goals, while customer-funded incentives are favored for more ambitious goals.