Management Science Research Centre (MSRC) Seminar: Yuqian Xu
Yuqian Xu
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kenan Flagler Business School
Unveiling Operational Processes: The Impact of Real-time Videos on Operational Outcomes
Date: Thursday, April 2, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Bronfman Building, Room 301
Abstract
In digital marketplaces, the physical separation between merchants and customers has intensified the demand for operational transparency. This paper examines a novel method to build operational transparency for merchants on food delivery platforms: displaying real-time videos of their operational processes. Using a unique dataset of chain restaurants on a leading food delivery platform in China, we employ the difference-in-differences method with matching techniques for empirical analyses. Our results show that the display of real-time videos improves restaurants' operational performance on the platform, including demand, customer average spending per order, and revenue. Additionally, these benefits are more pronounced for restaurants with less available information on the platform, such as those with fewer online reviews or lacking the premier label. By leveraging computer vision techniques, we further explore the underlying mechanism through detailed image analytics. Rather than treating transparency as a monolithic construct, we quantify key attributes within the visual information. Our findings indicate that region of interest coverage, aesthetic quality, and specific quality attributes (e.g., brightness and warm hues) play crucial roles in enhancing the observed treatment effects. Finally, we delineate two distinct screening channels based on visual context: front-of-house cues trigger observational learning through social proof, whereas back-of-house cues signal production effort and hygiene, facilitating process inference. Overall, our study highlights the importance of sharing visual information on operational processes to enhance performance on digital platforms, offering actionable insights for platform managers and service providers aiming to optimize their video content for improved outcomes.
