Research Overview

My research is practice-driven and explores how operational choices shape economic dynamics and consumer behavior. More specifically, I study new business models and contracting in retailing and supply chain management to better understand their impact on firms, consumers, and the overall supply chain. I also study the societal implications of policies in healthcare settings. I use analytical and empirical techniques including game theory, optimization, econometrics, and queueing theory in my research.

Research Papers

Journal publications: 

1. Leela Nageswaran, Aditya Jain, Haresh Gurnani, Anti-competitive Effects of a Dominant Retailer's Guaranteed Profit Margin and Low-Price Contracts (2025). Management Science forthcoming

2. Leela Nageswaran*, Yu Kan*, Uttara Ananthakrishnan*, “Be the Buyer”–Leveraging the Wisdom of the Crowd in E-Commerce Assortment Planning (2025). Management Science forthcoming

   • Finalist, 2023 INFORMS JFIG Paper Competition 

   • Selected for presentation at 2025 MSOM Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship SIG 

3. Leela Nageswaran, Elina Hwang, Soo-Haeng Cho, Offline Returns for Online Retailers via Partnership (2025). Management Science 71(1), 279-297 

   • Media coverage (CMU): https://www.cmu.edu/tepper/news/stories/2024/april/online-returns.html 

4. Leela Nageswaran, Implications of Vaccine Shopping during Pandemic (2023). Production and Operations Management, 32(4), 1133-1149

   • Media coverage (UW): UW study investigates how ‘vaccine shopping’ impacts rollout during pandemic

   • Media coverage (POMS): YouTube Link

5. Leela Nageswaran, Alan Scheller-Wolf, Queues with Redundancy: Is Waiting in Multiple Lines Fair? (2022). Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 24(4), 1959-1976 

   • Second place, 2016 IBM Service Science Best Student Paper Award 

6. Elina Hwang, Leela Nageswaran, Soo-Haeng Cho, Value of Online-Offline Return Partnership to Offline Retailers (2022). Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 24(3), 1630-1649 

   • Media coverage (GLOBEST): In-Person Returns Increase Retail Sales

7. Leela Nageswaran, Soo-Haeng Cho, Alan Scheller-Wolf, Consumer Return Policies in Omnichannel Operations (2020). Management Science, 66(12), 5558-5575 

   • Media coverage (PYMNTS): Returns Come Back To Haunt eCommerce Amid Pandemic

   • Media coverage (CMU): Study on Firms’ Return Policies Offers Guidance on Pricing, Returns, Refunds

Working papers & papers in progress: 

1. Leela Nageswaran, Aditya Jain, Haresh Gurnani, The Role of Product Quality in Marketplaces. Major Revision at Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

2. Leela Nageswaran, Narendra Agrawal, Who Should Set Consumer Returns Policies in Online Marketplaces: Supplier or Platform? Major Revision at Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

3. Jizhou Lu, Leela Nageswaran, Jinpeng Xu, Jin Kyung Kwak, Nagesh Gavirneni, Information Sharing in Omnichannel Operations: Impact of Information Errors. Major Revision at Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

4. Caitlin Cunningham, Elina Hwang, Leela Nageswaran, Soo-Haeng Cho, Channel Stickiness in Omni-Channel Retail: Temporary Shifts or Lasting Changes. Work in progress  

5. Siddharth Singh, Leela Nageswaran, Masha Shunko, More Than the Mean: Can Prospect Theory Explain Consumer Preferences in Selecting Service Outlets. Work in progress

6. Caitlin Cunningham, Leela Nageswaran, Driver on Deck: Impact of Order Assignment in On-Demand Delivery Platforms. Work in progress  

7. Yu Kan*, Leela Nageswaran*, Social Divide in COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage: The Role of Supply and Allocation. Work in progress

8. Soraya Fatehi, Leela Nageswaran, Michael Wagner, Unleashing Flexibility via the Airbnb of Warehousing: Centralized or Decentralized Pricing Control? R&R

Cases: 

Antonio Moreno, Leela Nageswaran, Emilie BiIlaud, Federica Gabrieli, Zalando: Becoming the Starting Point for Fashion (2022). Harvard Business School Case 622-070. 

• The case showcases how logistics can be a source of competitive advantage. It can be used to discuss the challenges of moving to a platform/marketplace model from a wholesale model; highlight the role of reverse logistics in an industry with high return rates; and show how decentralization in reverse logistics can save costs (in sharp contrast to the pooling benefits of forward logistics). 

*Indicates equal authorship. Italic font indicates PhD student author. 

Invited Seminars & Consortium Talks

• COER 2025 (Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing), the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania 

• Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota (September 2025)

• Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University

• Xavier School of Management (XLRI) (India) 

• COER 2023 (Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing), the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania 

• Simon Business School, University of Rochester

• Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley

• SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University

• Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York 

• Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Washington

• Foster School of Business, University of Washington

• Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas

• Kelley School of Business, Indiana University

• Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University