Anuj Kumar

Anuj Kumar is an Associate Professor of Information Systems at the Warrington College of Business, University of Florida. He holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems from the Heinz School of Information Systems and Management, Carnegie Mellon University. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Thermal Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, India, and a Master’s degree in management from the Indian Institute of Management, India.

Professor Kumar’s research focuses on understanding how information technology affects the behavior of organizations, individuals, and the interactions between them. Specifically, his research has examined the role of information technology in three areas – (1) Omnichannel customer behavior in technology-mediated multi-channel operations, such as retail of traditional goods (apparel and home goods), digital goods (digital movies and music), and after-sales services in the insurance sector. (2) The economic value of online product recommendation networks in e-commerce. (3) How technology is shaping our society, such as remedying education with the use of technologies. To answer these questions, Professor Kumar has designed natural, quasi-natural, and large-scale randomized experiments in real-life field settings.

Professor Kumar has been awarded the ISS Sandra A. Slaughter INFORMS Early Career Award in 2018 for his research in the area of Information Systems. His research has also received several competitive research grants from the Marketing Science Institute and Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative and his papers have received best paper awards from INFORMS-Industries Association awards and Workshop of Information Systems and Economics. His research has been mentioned in popular media outlets such as The New York Times,74 million.org, and Total Retail. Professor Kumar has been invited to give a TEDx talk in Boston Bio hub on his research on online school ratings and segregation in America. His research has been published in top-tier journals like Management Science, Information Systems Research, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and Management Information Systems Quarterly.

Publications

• Hasan, S. and A. Kumar. (2023) “Who Captures the Value from Organizational Ratings?: Evidence from Public Schools,” Accepted for publication in Strategy Science.

• Invited to give TED talk in Boston on October 5^th, 2019 on the effect of school ratings on segregation in America. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElvZR94HyMI&feature=youtu.be)
• Appeared in New York Times Article  (‘Do You Support Busing?’ Is not the Best Question)
• Featured among the top most-read stories on education in The 74Million.org (Our 12 Most Popular Articles on Education).

• Ananthakrishnan, M. U., S. Hasan, A. Kumar (2023). “Gentrification and Racial Distrust in Communities: Evidence from 911 Calls” Accepted for publication in Management Science. 
•  
• Wan (Shawn), Xiang, A. Kumar. X. Li (2023). “Retargeted Versus Generic Product Recommendations: When is it Valuable to Give Retargeted Recommendations,” Published in the online Article in Advance in Information Systems Research (https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2020.0560).
•  
• Wan, S. X., A. Kumar, X. Li (2023).”How do Recommendations Help Consumers Search Products? Evidence from a Field Experiment,” Published in the online Article in Advance in Management Science (https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4951).
•  
• Kumar, A., K. Hosanagar (2019). “Measuring the Value of Recommendation Links on Product Demand.” Information Systems Research. 30(3), 819-838.
  • Appeared as a featured story on September 11, 2019 in Total Retail (When a Website Tells You What to Buy, Does it Work?).

Kumar, A., A. Mehra, S. Kumar (2019). “Why do Stores Drive Online Sales? Evidence of Underlying Mechanisms from a Multichannel Retailer” Information Systems Research,30(1), March 2019, 319-338.

• • • Appeared as a featured story on September 11, 2019 in Retailminded.com (Brick and Mortar “Showrooms”? How Stores Can Survive in the Digital Age).
    • Mentioned in Tampa Bay Times (Tampa Bay Times: Is the future of department stores off-price? Macy’s Backstage opens in Tampa).

• Kitchens, B, A. Kumar, P. Pathak (2018). “Electronic Markets and Geographic Competition among Small, Local Firms.” Information Systems Research, 29(4), December 2018, 928-946.
  • Appeared as a feature story on the University of Florida and Warrington College of Business homepages and social media  (UF News: Using big data to improve business performance).
•  
• Kumar, A., T, Yinliang (2015). “Demand Effects of Joint Product Advertising in Online Product Videos” Management Science,61(8), August 2015, 1921-1937.
  • Received Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative Research Grant on “Innovative Approaches to Understanding Advertising Effectiveness”.
•  
• Jerath, K., A. Kumar, S. Netessine (2015). “An Information Stock Model of Customer Behavior in Multichannel Customer Support Services.” Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. 17(3), Summer 2015, 368-383.
  • Received Marketing Science Institute and Wharton Interactive Media Initiative Research Grant.
  • Nominated for the best paper award at Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS) 2012.
•  
• Kumar, A., R. Telang, M. D. Smith (2014). “Information Discovery and the Long Tail of Motion Picture Content” Management Information Systems Quarterly, 38(4), December 2014, 1057-1078.
  • Received Marketing Science Institute and Wharton Interactive Media Initiative Research Grant.
•  
• Kumar, A., R. Telang (2012). “Does the Web Reduce Customer Service Cost? Empirical Evidence from a Call Center” Information Systems Research, 23(3), Part1 of 2, September 2012, 721-737.
•  
• Kumar, A., R. Telang (2011). “Product Customization and Customer Service Costs: An Empirical Analysis.” Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, 13(3), Summer 2011, 347-360.
  • First runner-up award for the INFORMS-Industry Studies Association Best Paper Prize.

Research Software Platform

“AI-enabled Knowledge Diffusion EdTech Platform for Upgrading Education.” An algorithmic EdTech platform designed to induce peer-driven learning in K-12 classrooms. It is especially suitable for improving educational production in K-12 schools with scarce educational resources. Currently, over 3,000 underprivileged K-12 students are using this platform in Indian schools.

Business Case Studies

Kumar A. “Economic Value of Joint Product Advertising in Online Product Videos.”

Kumar A., A. Mehra. “Omnichannel Customer Behavior Analysis for Multichannel Retailers.”