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Research

My primary research area is the intersection of social media and healthcare, exploring various aspects of patients’ social communications in online healthcare communities. I use econometrics, social network analysis, content analysis, and other methods to study how social media empowers healthcare consumers and other user groups, which presents an important and powerful opportunity for a new generation of health applications. 

I also work on interdisciplinary research on humanitarian operations. I use empirical methods to study organizations’ social media strategies and measure the effectiveness of communication methods to improve disaster response efficiency and disaster management.

Keywords: social media analytics, machine learning, social support, online communities, resource allocation and deployment, interdisciplinary research

Publications

Journal Publications

• Tan, X., Yan, L., and Pedraza-Martinez, A.J. 2024. “Navigating The Digital Terrain Of Prosocial Announcements And Likability,” MIS Quarterly, 48(2), 613-644. 

• Yoo, C., Yoo, E., Yan, L., and Pedraza-Martinez, A.J. 2023. “Speak with One Voice? Examining Content Coordination and Social Media Engagement during Disasters,” Information Systems Research, in press. 

  • • Research Award, Kelley School of Business, 2023.

    • Finalist, Best Paper Competition, Humanitarian Operations & Crisis Management, POMS 2023

• Zhou, T., Wang, Y., Yan, L., and Tan, Y. 2023. “Spoiled for Choice? Personalized Recommendation for Healthcare Decisions: A Multi-Armed Bandit Approach,” Information Systems Research, 34(4) 1493-1512.

  • • Best Student Paper Award Runner-up, the 11th Conference on Health IT and Analytics, 2020.

• Zhou, T., Yan, L., Wang, Y., and Tan, Y. 2022. “Turn Your Online Engagement in Chronic Disease Management from Zero to Hero: A Multi-Dimensional Continuous-Time Evaluation,” Management Science, 68(5) 3507-3527.

  • • Research Award, Kelley School of Business, 2022.

    • Young Researcher Best Paper Award Runner-up, the 9th Conference on Health IT and Analytics, 2018.

    • Finalist, INFORMS eBusiness Best Paper Award, 2018.

• Wang, L., Yan, L., Zhou, T., Guo, X., and Heim, G. 2020. “Understanding Physicians’ Online-Offline Behavior Dynamics: An Empirical Study,” Information Systems Research, 31(2) 537-555.

  • • Best Student Paper Award Runner-up, the 8th Conference on Health IT and Analytics, 2017.

• Yan, L. 2020. “The Kindness of Commenters: An Empirical Study of the Effectiveness of Perceived and Received Support for Weight-Loss Outcomes,” Production and Operations Management, 29(6) 1448-1466.

• Cheng, X., Zhang, J., and Yan, L. 2020. “Understanding the Impact of Individual Users’ Rating Characteristics on Predictive Accuracy of Recommender Systems,” INFORMS Journal on Computing, 32(2) 303-320.

• Yan, L., and Pedraza-Martinez, A. 2019. “Social Media for Disaster Management: Operational Value of the Social Conversation.” Production and Operations Management, 28(10) 2514-2532.

  • • Best Paper Award Runner-up, Humanitarian Operations & Crisis Management Track, POMS 2016.

• Yan, L., Yan, X., Tan, Y., and Sun, S. 2019. “Shared Minds: How Patients Use Collaborative Information Sharing via Social Media Platforms.” Production and Operations Management, 28(1) 9-26. (Lead Article)

  • • Young Researcher Award, the 3rd Annual Workshop on Health IT and Economics, 2012.

• Stauffer, J., Pedraza-Martinez, A., Yan, L., and Van Wassenhove, L. N. 2018. “Asset Supply Networks in Humanitarian Operations: A Combined Empirical-Simulation Approach.” Journal of Operations Management, 63(44-58).

• Yan, L. 2018. “Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes: The Effect of Mismatches in Social Support and Health Outcomes in an Online Weight Loss Community.” Production and Operations Management, 27(1) 9-27. (Lead Article) 

• Yan, L., and Tan, Y. 2017. “The Consensus Effect in Online Healthcare Communities.” Journal of Management Information Systems, 34(1) 11-39. (Lead Article)

  • • Best Student Paper Nominee Conference on Information Systems and Technology, 2011.

    • Best Paper Nominee Conference on Information Systems and Technology, 2011.

• Yan, L., Peng, J., and Tan, Y. 2015. “Network Dynamics: How Can We Find Patients Like Us,” Information Systems Research, 26(3) 496-512. 

• Yan, L., and Tan, Y. 2014. “Feeling Blue? Go Online: An Empirical Study of Online Supports among Patients,” Information Systems Research, 25(4) 690-709.

  • • Best Student Paper Nominee Conference on Information Systems and Technology, 2010.

    • This research work has been selected in the INFORMS new initiative “INFORMS Editor’s Cut” for “Healthcare in the Age of Analytics” Volume 1 as a sample research work that examines the impact of analytics in healthcare.

Book Chapters

• Pedraza-Martinez, A.J. and Yan, L., “A research framework on digital platforms and humanitarian supply chain management,” Nonprofit Operations and Supply Chain Management: Theory and Practice.

 Papers Under Review

• Yan, L. and Tan, Y. “Value Co-creation in Online Weightloss Platforms: a Service-Dominant Perspective,” under review. 

• Moravec, P., Yan, L., Pedraza-Martinez, A., and Betancur, S. “Information Management for Disaster Response: The Role of Operational Updates and Crew Experience,” under review

• Zhou, T., Wang, Y., Yan, L., and Tan, Y. “Learning to be Proficient? A Structural Model of User Dynamic Engagement in E-Health Interventions,” under review.

• Wang, L., Bala, H., Yan, L., and Guo, X. “Physicians’ Participation in Online Healthcare Platforms: Role of Similarity and Feedback,” under review.

• Seol, S., Yan, L., Zhang, J., Bala, H., and Wang, L. “The Effect of Changes in Incentive Schemes on Physicians’ Response Behaviors in Online Healthcare Communities,” under review.

• Pedraza-Martinez, A.J., Yan, L., Kan, Y., and Gloria, U. “Data Analytics for Disaster Management: Opportunities for Relevant Research,” under review.