News Releases

CATONSVILLE, MD, April 2, 2020 – Consumer stockpiling and hoarding took center stage in recent months as the COVID-19 virus has spread around the world, and with it, panic buying on the part of millions. News broadcasts and social media feeds have been filled with examples of the worst aspects of human nature.

CATONSVILLE, MD, March 9, 2020 – Research shows higher continuity of care, meaning a care team cooperatively involved in ongoing healthcare, is better for health outcomes, but can there be too much of a good thing? New research in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management finds the answer is “yes.”

CATONSVILLE, MD, February 12, 2020 – Food waste is a big problem in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply. New research in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management finds that increasing the number of grocery stores in certain areas can drastically decrease waste.

CATONSVILLE, MD, February 10, 2020 – Two INFORMS members – Stephan Biller, vice president Offering Management Watson IoT and Chief Innovation Officer for IBM and Jorge Nocedal, Walter P. Murphy professor at Northwestern University – have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. They join more than 100 new members also recently elected. 

CATONSVILLE, MD, February 6, 2020 – Product reviews and ratings have a strong impact on consumer consideration. In restaurant reviews, new research in the INFORMS journal Information Systems Research shows that location bias, based on the popularity difference between the reviewer’s hometown and the distance to their destination, can affect a reviewers online rating by as much as 11%. 

CATONSVILLE, MD, February 3, 2020 – In the public interest, governments often regulate the marketing activities of certain industries like tobacco, financial services, alcohol, and gaming. 

CATONSVILLE, MD, January 30, 2020 – New research in the INFORMS journal Information Systems Research finds that the purchasing decision of customers considering buying e-books is significantly influenced through easy access to a combination of e-book previews and reviews, resulting in a staggering 31% increase in a consumer’s likelihood to purchase an e-book. When exposed to either previews only or online reviews only, purchase likelihood is between 7 and 17%.

CATONSVILLE, MD, January 29, 2020 – Consumers want what they want, and they want it now. Drone delivery has long been talked about as an option to satisfy consumer delivery demands, but how realistic is it? New research in the INFORMS journal Transportation Science looks at how possible and desirable it is to use drones for delivery for e-retailers considering cost and effectiveness in certain population areas and in certain locations.

CATONSVILLE, MD, January 20, 2020 – News aggregators help to simplify consumers’ search for news stories by gathering content based on viewing history or other factors. Commonly used aggregators include Google News, Yahoo! News, and others. They offer links to news stories published by news outlets and save consumers considerable time and effort in finding news.

CATONSVILLE, MD, January 14, 2020 – How long has it been since you logged onto a Web site and you were prompted to decide whether to opt out of “cookies” that the site told you will enhance your online experience?  Minutes? Hours?