Yong Tan
Michael G. Foster Endowed Professor of Information Systems

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Research Interests

• Fintech
• Data and algorithm pricing
• Sharing economy
• Social media and user generated content
• Microcharity
• Online opinion formation
• Health IT
• Economic and social networks (A tutorial given at the INFORMS Annual Meeting, Seattle, November 7, 2007)
• Open source software development
• Peer-to-peer network
• Digital content distribution channels
• Economics of Internet interconnectivity
• Online trust management
• Pricing of Internet services

Publications

Selected Published Papers [Full List]

• "Flow of the Game: A Hidden Markov Model of Player Engagement in Online Mobile Games," with J. Deng and S. Lee, Information Systems Research 36(3) 1898-1911, 2025.
• "Social trading, communication, and networks," with J. Deng, M. Yang, and M. Pelster, Information Systems Research 35(4) 1546-1564, 2024.
• "Spoiled for Choice? Personalized Recommendation for Healthcare Decisions: A Multi-Armed Bandit Approach," with T. Zhou, Y. Wang, and L. Yan, Information Systems Research 34(4) 1493-1512, 2023.
• "Unifying Algorithmic and Theoretical Perspectives: Emotions in Online Reviews and Sales," with Y. Yu, Y. Yang, and J. Huang, Management Information Systems Quarterly 47(1) 127-160, 2023.
• "Microblogging Replies and Opinion Polarization: A Natural Experiment," with Y. Lu, J. Wu, and J. Chen, Management Information Systems Quarterly 46(4) 1901-1936, 2022.
• "Turn Your Online Engagement in Chronic Disease Management from Zero to Hero: A Multi-Dimensional Continuous-Time Evaluation," with T. Zhou, L. Yan, and Y. Wang, Management Science 68(5) 3507-3527, 2022.
• "Competitive Entry of Information Goods under Quality Uncertainty," with Z. Zhang, G. Nan, and M. Li, Management Science 68(4) 2869-2888, 2022.
• "Learning to be Creative: A Mutually Exciting Spatial Point Process Model for Idea Generation in Open Innovation," with V. Aggarwal and E. Hwang, Information Systems Research 32(4) 1214-1235, 2021.
• "Freemium Pricing in Digital Games with Virtual Currency," with Z. Meng and L. Hao, Information Systems Research 32(2) 481-496, 2021.
• "The Impact of Subscription Reciprocity on Charitable Content Generation and Sharing: Evidence from Twitter on Giving Tuesday," with J.X. Tan and Y. Lu, Management Information Systems Quarterly 45(2) 535-562, 2021.
• "Optimizing Two-Sided Promotion for Transportation Network Companies: A Structural Model with Conditional Bayesian Learning," with J. Zheng, F. Ren, and X. Chen, Information Systems Research 31(3) 692-714, 2020.
• "How Mega is the Mega? Exploring the Spillover Effects of WeChat using Graphical Model," with J. Zheng, Z. Qi, and Y. Dou, Information Systems Research 30(4) 1343-1362, 2019.
• "Who Wants Consumers To Be Informed? Facilitating Information Disclosure in a Distribution Channel," with L. Hao, Information Systems Research 30(1) 34-49, 2019.
• "Disconfirmation Effect on Online Rating Behavior: A Structural Model," with Y.-C. Ho and J. Wu, Information Systems Research 28(3) 626-642, 2017.
• "Do I Follow My Friends or the Crowd? Informational Cascades in Online Movie Ratings," with Y.J. Lee and K. Hosanagar, Management Science 61(9) 2241-2258, 2015. (Management Science Best Paper Award in Information Systems)
• "Feeling Blue? Go Online: An Empirical Study of Online Supports among Patients," with L. Yan, Information Systems Research 25(4) 690-709, 2014.
• "Social Networks and the Diffusion of User-Generated Content: Evidence from YouTube," with A. Susarla and C. Oh, Information Systems Research 23(1) 23-41, 2012. (Association for Information Systems Best Publication of 2012 Award)
• "A Hidden Markov Model of Developer Learning Dynamics in Open Source Software Projects," with P.V. Singh and N. Youn, Information Systems Research 22(4) 790-807, 2011.
• "Network Effects: The Influence of Social Capital on Open Source Project Success," with P.V. Singh and V.S. Mookerjee, Management Information Systems Quarterly 35(4) 813-829, 2011.
• "An Economic Analysis of Interconnection Arrangements between Internet Backbone Providers," with I.R. Chiang and V.S. Mookerjee, Operations Research 54(4) 776-788, 2006.

Recent Papers Related to AI and ML

• "When Emotion AI Meets Strategic Users," with Y. Yu, W. Xue, and L. Jia, Management Science, forthcoming.
• "Toward a Fairness-Aware Scoring System for Algorithmic Decision-Making," with Y. Yang, Y. Wu, X. Chang, and M. Li, Production and Operations Management, forthcoming.
• "Algorithmic Collusion or Competition: The Role of Platforms' Recommender Systems," with X. Xu, S. Lee, and J. Qin, [SSRN] (2025 INFORMS Information Systems Society Cluster Best Paper).
• "'Generate' the Future of Work through AI: Empirical Evidence from Online Labor Markets," with J. Liu, X. Xu, X. Nan, and Y. Li. [SSRN]
• "Can ChatGPT Kill User-Generated Q&A Platforms?" with J. Xue, L. Wang, J. Zheng, and Y. Li. [SSRN]
• "Debiasing ML- or AI-Generated Regressors in Partial Linear Models," with J. Zhang, W. Xue, and Y. Yu. [SSRN]
• "Learning to Adopt Generative AI," with L. Ma, X. Xu, and Y. He. [SSRN]
• "When Content is Goliath and Algorithm is David: The Style and Semantic Effects of Generative Search Engine," with L. Ma, J. Qin, and X. Xu. [SSRN]
• "Rethinking Data Value: Asymmetric Data Shapley for Structure-Aware Valuation in Data Markets and Machine Learning Pipelines," with X. Zheng, Y. Huang, X. Chang, and R. Jia. [SSRN]
• "Untangling Direct and Indirect Impacts of Integrating AI Agents in Learning Apps," with S. Gao and J. Zhang. [SSRN]
• "Emotion AI in Disguise Spurs Strategic Behavior in Customer Care," with Y. Kan, Y. Yu, and L. Jia. [SSRN]
• "From Dyads to Groups: Rethinking Emotional Support with Conversational AI," with Y. Hu, W. Xue, and Y. Yu. [SSRN]
• "Evolution of Large Language Model Products and Firm's Strategy: the Role of Quality Improvement," with T. Shen, L. Liu, and J. Wu. [SSRN]
• "Less Is More? Impact of AI-Generated Summaries on User Engagement of Video-Sharing Platforms," with A. Kim, Y. Lu, and T. Ma. [SSRN]
• "Bridging Language Barriers: Causal Evidence on the Scholarly Impact of LLM Assisted Writing," with J. Liu, H. Xue, L. Wang, and Y. Li. [SSRN]
• "Strategic Incentives for Data Sharing in Federated Learning: Maximizing Collaboration in Competitive Markets," with Z. Zhang, G. Liu, and J. Wu. [SSRN]
• "Artificial Intelligence and Employee Satisfaction," with Y. Chen, W. Huang, and T. Song. [SSRN]