Qiaowen Guo

My research examines how digital service platforms should design operations as algorithms and artificial intelligence reshape worker behavior, incentives, and consumer outcomes. My current research program includes three main projects. The first studies how algorithmic management creates trade-offs between operational efficiency and consumer experience in customer support. The second examines how ranked compensation systems with pay cliffs shape gig workers’ labor supply and service quality. The third studies contract design and human-AI collaboration in e-commerce dispute resolution, asking when platforms should rely on human decision-makers, use AI as a copilot, or automate.

Across these projects, I combine large-scale field experimentation and causal inference with analytical principal-agent modeling. A central theme is that technology changes not only what firms can measure and automate, but also how workers respond and how monitoring and decision rights should be allocated. My work aims to help platforms capture efficiency gains while protecting service quality, consumer trust, and meaningful human contribution.