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September 30, 2022Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

The Impacts of Algorithmic Work Assignment on Fairness Perceptions and Productivity: Evidence from Field Experiments

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Authors

BBBing BaiHDHengchen DaiDZDennis Zhang

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Overview

Randomized field experiment shows that algorithmic task assignment improves fairness perceptions and productivity in warehouse workers, indicating behavioral benefits of automated decision making.

Key Points

  • To investigate whether algorithmic versus human-based task assignment affects workers' perceptions of fairness and operational productivity.
  • Conducted a 15-day randomized field experiment in an Alibaba Group warehouse, randomly assigning workers to receive order pick lists from either an ostensibly algorithmic machine or a human distributor using identical assignment rules.
  • Replicated findings through a second field experiment with a non-overlapping warehouse worker sample and complementary online experiments in the United States.
  • Workers assigned tasks by an algorithm perceived the process as fairer by 0.94 to 1.02 standard deviations compared to those assigned by humans.
  • Algorithmic task assignment increased workers' picking efficiency by 15.56% to 17.86%, with effects persisting past the initial day of the intervention.

Cite This Study

Bai et al. (2022) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d9b9f99a6164e50fa3d61dhttps://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1120
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