Welcome to Maryland Smith

Why In-store Pickup Isn’t As Seamless As It Seems for Retailers

Buying online and picking up in-store has provided consumers with a new way to shop hassle-free. For retailers, it’s created new operational challenges toward fulfillment scheduling.

Under Sanction or Not: Female Doctors Face Bias in Online Reviews

Many people use online reviews when looking for a doctor, and since the pandemic began it’s become an even more popular way to find medical care. Margrét Bjarnadóttir and her co-authors have examined the link between online patient reviews and quality of care.

Design AI Poses a Threat to Human Designers’ Jobs

Technology has been replacing people on the job for years, and many displaced workers have done what they had to do - find other employment. Artificial Intelligence is the latest threat to human labor.

The Venture Capital Landscape Is Changing, and Perhaps Not for the Better

Startup companies have traditionally looked for the most experienced venture capitalists they could find to get their businesses off the ground and support their growth. That’s not always the case anymore, according to a study by Smith's Rich Mathews and co-author Naveen Khanna.

Creativity Plays a Role in Reducing Rudeness on the Job

Rudeness on the job is the worst. We now use the phrase “hostile work environment” to describe deliberate discourteousness or impoliteness that negatively affects an employee’s ability to do their job. Experiencing this at work has driven many workers to become part of the Great Resignation.

How To Use Data To Allocate Logistics Resources By Region

In a world of uncertainty, logistics firms must predict how many resources will be needed to achieve service objectives. According to the recent development of a statistical uncertainty model by Maryland Smith’s Ilya Ryzhov, predicting such costs is within reach.

How Sellers Can Make Group Buying Work for Them

When Groupon stormed onto the e-commerce scene in 2008 it sought to bring group buying to the U.S. But unlike in China, it never quite panned out as the company envisioned forcing it to pivot to coupons. Now, new research from Maryland Smith is examining why that happened and how companies can best implement the strategy.

Playbook for a Climate-Ready Supply Chain

Extreme weather that has increasingly hammered factories, rail lines, ports and highways is expected to intensify as the globe continues to warm. Across industries, leadership teams have awakened to the high degree of financial risk posed by this climate change.

Optimizing RFID Technology for Utility Companies

Barring an unusually high bill, most of us pay our utility bills and don’t think much else of it. What many of us don’t know is utility companies, already low margin businesses, need to be highly efficient in reading our utility meters every billing cycle in order to avoid unnecessary costs.

The Unintended Consequences of Asking for Employee Input

Feeling comfortable enough to speak up and share your ideas and opinions at work is usually a good thing – that’s the environment most organizations should want to encourage. But some managers who solicit input might not give employees who do so enough credit, finds new research from Maryland Smith’s Subra Tangirala.

Helping Drivers Take a Turn for the Better

Running into a one-way or no-left-turn street can be pretty frustrating as a driver. It’s an even bigger problem for vehicles responsible for mapping streets as well. But new research from Maryland Smith has a solution.

Why Companies are Leaving Money on the Table

Imagine a world where your deliveries are always on time and your food is never cold. Restaurants are able to coordinate when to cook orders and apps are able to efficiently assign drivers multiple orders or even ask customers picking up an order if they would be willing to drop off an order with their neighbor on the way back.