Yao Cui

Biography

Yao Cui is an associate professor of operations, technology, and information management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, part of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. His research centers on operational innovation, specifically examining how new technologies can be used to develop novel operations strategies in supply chains, the gig economy, and the public sector. His work is deeply practice-driven and often conducted in collaboration with leading companies and public organizations to design and evaluate innovative operational solutions. By integrating empirical and analytical methods, he aims to uncover practical insights that help practitioners address operational and managerial challenges.

Cui’s research has been published in leading journals, including Management Science and Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. His work has earned several awards, including the CSAMSE Annual Conference Best Paper Award, the INFORMS Service Science Section Best Student Paper Award, the INFORMS TIMES Best Working Paper Award, the Digital Supply Chain and Supplier Diversity Conference Best Paper Award, and the INFORMS Public Sector OR Best Paper Award. He holds editorial roles as an associate editor for Management Science and Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and as a senior editor for Production and Operations Management.

At the Johnson School, Cui received the 2020 Half Century Faculty Research Fellowship and the 2017 Clifford H. Whitcomb Faculty Fellowship. He teaches the operations management core course in the EMBA and MBA programs and revenue management analytics for doctoral students. In 2023, he was named one of the “40-Under-40 Best MBA Professors” by Poets&Quants. Before joining Cornell, he earned his doctoral degree from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and his bachelor’s degree from the Department of Industrial Engineering at Tsinghua University.

Education

PhD University Of Michigan, 2015
BEng Tsinghua University, 2009

Research

• Lee, Wee Kiat; Cui, Yao. "Should Gig Platforms Decentralize Dispute Resolution?"Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. 26.2 (2024): 519-536
• Cui, Yao; Gaur, Vishal; Liu, Jingchen. "Supply Chain Transparency and Blockchain Design"Management Science. 70.5 (2024): 3245-3263
• Cui, Yao; Hu, Ming; Liu, Jingchen. "Value and Design of Traceability-Driven Blockchains"Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. 25.3 (2023): 1099-1116
• Cui, Yao; Davis, Andrew M. "Tax-Induced Inequalities in the Sharing Economy"Management Science. 68.10 (2022): 7202-7220
• Cui, Yao; Gaur, Vishal. "Supply Chain Transparency Using Blockchain: Benefits, Challenges, and Examples"Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies for the 2020s: Vital Skills for the Next Generation, Ed. Rico Merkert, Ed. Kai Hobarg. Springer Nature. (2022): 307-326
• Chen, Li; Cui, Yao; Lee, Hau. "Retailing with 3D Printing"Production and Operations Management. 30.7 (2021): 1986-2007
• Cui, Yao; Orhun, A. Yeşim; Duenyas, Izak. "How Price Dispersion Changes when Upgrades are Introduced: Theory and Empirical Evidence from the Airline Industry"Management Science. 65.8 (2019): 3835-3852
• Cui, Yao; Duenyas, Izak; Şahin, Özge. "Pricing of Conditional Upgrades in the Presence of Strategic Consumers"Management Science. 64.7 (2018): 3208-3226
• Cui, Yao; Duenyas, Izak; Şahin, Özge. "Unbundling of Ancillary Service: How Does Price Discrimination of Main Service Matter?"Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. 20.3 (2018): 455-466
• Cui, Yao; Duenyas, Izak; Şahin, Özge. "Should Event Organizers Prevent Resale of Tickets?"Management Science. 60.9 (2014): 2160-2179

Awards

• Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors (2023) Poets&Quants
• Management Science Distinguished Service Award (2023) INFORMS
• M&SOM Meritorious Service Award (2023) INFORMS