Date of Award

5-2020

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Management and International Business

First Advisor

Ali K. Dogru, Ph.D.

Advisor Department

Management and International Business

Abstract

In this thesis, we study the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and automation on operations management (OM). We specifically target the industries of healthcare, retail, and manufacturing in our analysis since each sector has distinct dynamics and concerns regarding the structural changes imposed by advancements in AI. We analyze 120 high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles to capture recent research trends in healthcare, retail, and manufacturing. Using respected business analytics reports, we compare academic efforts to industry initiatives. We find that growing interest in AI research in academia is consistent with growing research and development (R&D) investment and patent acquisition on AI technologies. We conclude that the industry that is likely to be impacted the most is manufacturing due to the large amounts of machinery and technology that are used in production, followed by retail and healthcare. We show that the impacts of AI, ML, and automation will change the landscape of OM and how businesses operate and make decisions in the near future. We provide some insights for students, academic institutions, and business organizations that operate in healthcare, manufacturing, and retail sectors. We recommend possible avenues of exploration to researchers interested in AI research.

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