The 5th International Conference on Modern Management based on Big Data (MMBD2024)

Abstract: This study examines how a retailer chooses suppliers and sets pricing strategies. The retailer can either select a single supplier, offering one product, or engage with two suppliers to provide quality-differentiated products. The retailer also needs to decide between uniform pricing and personalized pricing. The study finds that a retailer may prefer using both suppliers, even if one product does not sell. If the retailer opts for a single supplier, it chooses personalized pricing to maximize profit by adjusting prices based on consumer valuation. When selecting both suppliers, the pricing strategy depends on the cost of collecting consumer data. The retailer might use uniform or personalized pricing for both products or mix the two approaches, depending on the products’ relative selling efficiency and the cost of collecting data on consumer valuation. When product quality can be endogenously determined, the retailer is more likely to engage both suppliers and adopt personalized pricing strategies.

Biography: Jing Chen holds the William A. Black Chair in Commerce and is a Professor in the Department of Management Science & Information Systems at the Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University. Her research interests include competitive channel and supply chain management, the interface between operations management and marketing, and customer returns. She has published over 90 papers in journals. She is currently serving as an Associate Editor for The International Journal of Management Science (OMEGA), The Journal of the Operational Research Society (JORS), and International Transactions in Operational Research (ITOR).

Abstract: The power of Large Language Models (LLM) has opened new possibilities for businesses, ranging from chat bots for customer and employee support to instruments for business intelligence. These applications promise increased profit, better customer service, higher-quality prognosis, etc. As such the number of applications of LLM is growing seemingly without limit. However, LLM present a number of weaknesses and risks of which the vast majority of users are unaware, including bias, "hallucination" (i.e., inventing fake "facts"), and even cybersecurity risks. Fortunately, there exist technologies and means of mitigating these risks.
In this talk I will show how LLM work (for the lay person) and why these risks occur. I will also discuss uses of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and other technologies for addressing problems. As well, you will learn when it is acceptable to use a pre-trained model and when you really need to train your own.

Biography: Dr. Jennifer Q. Trelewicz is CEO and Founder of TGPO Consult, Ltd., and has clients in major corporations in the telecommunications and transport sectors. She has been working in the field of AI and machine learning since the 1980s, information security since the 1990s. She has more than 30 years of experience in technical and top-management positions in leading companies in their field, including IBM, Google, Microsoft, Mail.Ru, Deutsche Bank Tech Centre, Motorola, and others. She has publications in refereed journals and conferences internationally, 28 issued technology patents in various countries. She is a senior member of IEEE and a member of the IEEE committee for publications.

Abstract: This study focuses on age and digital exposure as factors driving individuals to be (1) employees or entrepreneurs, (2) full-time or part-time, or (3) opportunity or necessity entrepreneurs. It extends occupational choice models, relying on a utility maximization framework, to entrepreneur types incorporating age and digital exposure effects. Using 132 months of Current Population Survey data and multilevel modelling with individuals’ fixed effects and metropolitan area random effects, the study finds that (1) workers with low- and high- digital exposure are more likely to become entrepreneurs than peers with medium digital exposure, mirroring digitization’s “push” and “pull” mechanisms on entrepreneurship; (2) age strengthens digitization’s “pull” mechanism to be entrepreneurs (versus employees) and opportunity (versus necessity) entrepreneurs; (3) digital exposure has a weak marginal potential to increase workers’ odds to be part-time (versus full-time) entrepreneurs. The study also notes the importance of location and concludes with discussion and implications.

Biography: Dr. Ting Zhang is an esteemed Associate Professor at the Merrick School of Business, where she also serves as the Associate Director of the Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore. Her academic excellence was recently recognized with the prestigious University System of Maryland Board of Regents Faculty Award in Scholarship/Research in 2023 and the President’s Award for the University of Baltimore faculty members in 2024. Dr. Zhang occupies the Harry Y. Wright Chair since 2020 and has been honored with the T. Rowe Price Excellence in Teaching Award four times.
Dr. Zhang's academic contributions encompass a wide array of areas. She is a distinguished Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellow at the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), Chair of the North America Regional Science Council, President of the Northeast Regional Science Association, and an appointed member of the Maryland Governor’s Office of Equal Pay Commission.
As an accomplished author with multiple published books and numerous journal articles, Dr. Zhang’s scholarly interests are rooted in human capital, employment dynamics, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. As a Principal Investigator, Dr. Zhang has successfully secured grants over $10 million USD from renowned agencies and institutions including the US Department of Labor, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Education, Social Security Administration, Gates Foundation, Kauffman Foundation, Abell Foundation, Maryland Department of Labor, Maryland Department of Disability, and Maryland Department of Human Services.
Dr. Zhang's global impact is evident through her keynote speeches at prestigious events such as the Uddevalla Symposium in Europe, the annual meeting of the Leadership in Motion in Sweden, national medical device conference, and at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, UMBC, as well as invited talks at Cambridge University, Harvard University, Tsinghua University, and UIUC. Her insights and discussions at significant platforms like the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, the House Committee on Small Businesses, the US National Press Club, USDOL, Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation, and the Anne E. Casey Foundation have been instrumental in shaping policy discussions.
In the editorial realm, Dr. Zhang serves as an editorial board member for esteemed journals such as Small Business Economics and has acted as a guest editor for journals including Entrepreneurship & Regional Development and Review of Regional Research. Additionally, she holds an associate editorship at the Journal of Urban Management.
Dr. Zhang’s impactful research has garnered attention from mainstream media outlets such as Forbes, Time, Bloomberg Businessweek, Academic Times, Market Watch, Epoch Times, Baltimore Sun, among others, showcasing the relevance and significance of her scholarly endeavors.