Associate Professor Zhang Shichen: Reducing Patient Tardiness: From Experiment to Implementation

A research paper titled "Reducing Patient Tardiness: From Experiment to Implementation," was published online in Production & Operations Management, a top international journal in the field of operations management. Associate Professor Zhang Shichen from the Institute of Systems Engineering at Tianjin University's College of Management and Economics serves as the corresponding author and co-first author.

This research was completed in collaboration with Professor Gu Wei from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, Professor Meng Li from the University of Houston, USA, and Associate Professor Zhang Shichen from Tianjin University's College of Management and Economics.

The study focuses on the pervasive phenomenon of patient tardiness in healthcare service settings. Methodologically, the research innovatively combines a large-scale randomized field experiment with full-scale implementation of field policies to validate the effectiveness of behavioral governance outcomes from incentive measures in real medical scenarios. It reveals the interaction between negative incentives (penalty measures) and behavioral nudges (time suggestions), providing generalizable strategies for hospitals to reduce patient tardiness and improve resource utilization. Based on the research findings, the relevant measures have been formally adopted and continuously implemented by the partner hospital.

Author Biographies

Zhang Shichen: Yingcai Associate Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the Institute of Systems Engineering, College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University. She serves as Principal Investigator for one General Project and one Young Scientist Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Her research focuses on using empirical methods such as field experiments to quantify how artificial intelligence creates and delivers value in management contexts. Her research findings have been published in international journals including Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Decision Sciences, European Journal of Operational Research, and Omega.

For details, please visit: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10591478251386162

By College of Management and Economics

Editor: Sun Xiaofang