Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
6-2026
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Program
Business
Advisor
Alex Mills
Committee Members
Tolga Aydinliyim
Michael Huang
Jing Dong
Subject Categories
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | Operations and Supply Chain Management
Keywords
Multi-channel, Service operations
Abstract
In today’s evolving service landscape, the growth of virtual channels alongside traditional in-person services is changing how providers interact with customers and how services are delivered. This dissertation studies how service systems should be designed and managed when customers can choose between virtual and in-person channels through three connected perspectives: customer behavior, work design, and public policy. The first study examines booking-window design in a pooled multi-channel appointment system using appointment-level data from an undergraduate advising office, a queueing model, and a digital twin. It shows that booking windows shape the offered set and the flow of demand across channels, and that keeping the virtual channel open farther in advance while keeping the in-person channel tighter performs well because cancellation patterns differ across channels. The second study examines when pooling capacity across channels is desirable. In a theoretical model with heterogeneous customer preferences and delay-sensitive choice, pooling does not always dominate dedicated capacity. When congestion is higher or channel profitability differs, dedicated or carefully prioritized systems can perform better. The third study turns to policy and examines whether broader telehealth payment parity affects telehealth use for mental healthcare among Medicaid beneficiaries. Using a researcher-collected state policy dataset, publicly reported state-level Medicaid utilization data, and a synthetic control design, it finds evidence of positive spillovers in some states. Taken together, the dissertation shows that multi-channel services should be managed as integrated systems in which customer behavior, operational design, and policy incentives jointly shape outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Olmez, Omer Berk, "Managing Multi-Channel Service Operations" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6740
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons, Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons
