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  1. Directory
  2. Faculty
  3. Omar Besbes

Omar Besbes

Vikram S. Pandit Professor of Business
Decision, Risk, and Operations Division
Omar Besbes
Areas of Expertise
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Marketplace Design, Operations & Supply Chain Management
Contact
Office: 982 Kravis
E-mail: [email protected]
Links
Curriculum Vitae

Omar Besbes's primary research interests are in the area of data-driven decision-making with a focus on applications in e-commerce, pricing and revenue management, online advertising, operations management and general service systems. His research has been recognized by multiple prizes, including the 2019 Frederick W. Lanchester Prize, the 2017 M&SOM society Young Scholar Prize, the 2013 M&SOM best paper award and the 2012 INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section prize. He serves on the editorial boards of Management Science and Operations Research.

He has taught core MBA courses in Operations Management and Business Analytics, an MBA elective on advanced Business Analytics, as well as various Ph.D. seminars on stochastic models, revenue management and data-driven decision-making. He is a recipient of the Dean's award for teaching excellence in the core at Columbia Business School.

Omar is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique (France) and received a M.Sc. from Stanford University in 2000 and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2008. Before joining Columbia, he was on the faculty at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Education
Ingenieur de l'Ecole, Polytechnique, France, 1999; MSc, Stanford University, 2000; PhD, Columbia University, 2008
Joined CBS
2009

All Activities

  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Awards and Honors
  • Press
  • CaseWorks
  • Journal articles
  • Working papers
  • Articles
  • Books
  • Chapters
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar, Francisco Castro, and Ilan Lobel
. “Surge Pricing and Its Spatial Supply Response.”
Management Science
vol.
67
, (March 01, 2021):
1329
-
1992
.
Explore Further about Surge Pricing and Its Spatial Supply Response
Download PDF on Surge Pricing and Its Spatial Supply Response
Journal Article
Allouah, Amine and Omar Besbes
. “Prior-Independent Optimal Auctions.”
Management Science
vol.
66
, (October 01, 2020):
4417
-
4432
.
Explore Further about Prior-Independent Optimal Auctions
Download PDF on Prior-Independent Optimal Auctions
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar, Yonatan Gur, and Assaf Zeevi
. “Optimal Exploration-Exploitation in a Multi-armed Bandit Problem with Non-stationary Rewards.”
Stochastic Systems
vol.
9
, (December 01, 2019):
319
-
337
.
Explore Further about Optimal Exploration-Exploitation in a Multi-armed Bandit Problem with Non-stationary Rewards
Download PDF on Optimal Exploration-Exploitation in a Multi-armed Bandit Problem with Non-stationary Rewards
Journal Article
Chan, Tian, Francis de Vericourt, and Omar Besbes
. “Contracting in Medical Equipment Maintenance Services: An Empirical Investigation.”
Management Science
vol.
65
, (January 01, 2019):
1136
-
1150
.
Explore Further about Contracting in Medical Equipment Maintenance Services: An Empirical Investigation
Download PDF on Contracting in Medical Equipment Maintenance Services: An Empirical Investigation
Journal Article
Balseiro, Santiago R. and Omar Besbes
. “Dynamic Mechanism Design with Budget Constrained Buyers Under Limited Commitment.”
Operations Research
vol.
67
, (January 01, 2019):
711
-
730
.
Explore Further about Dynamic Mechanism Design with Budget Constrained Buyers Under Limited Commitment
Download PDF on Dynamic Mechanism Design with Budget Constrained Buyers Under Limited Commitment
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar, Dan Iancu, and Nikos Trichakis
. “Dynamic Pricing under Debt: Spiraling Distortions and Efficiency Losses.”
Management Science
vol.
64
, (October 01, 2018):
4572
-
4589
.
Explore Further about Dynamic Pricing under Debt: Spiraling Distortions and Efficiency Losses
Download PDF on Dynamic Pricing under Debt: Spiraling Distortions and Efficiency Losses
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Marco Scarsini
. “On Information Distortions in Online Ratings.”
Operations Research
vol.
66
, (January 01, 2018):
597
-
610
.
Explore Further about On Information Distortions in Online Ratings
Download PDF on On Information Distortions in Online Ratings
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Denis Saure
. “Product Assortment and Price Competition under Multinomial Logit Demand.”
Production and Operations Management
vol.
25
, (March 01, 2016):
114
-
127
.
Explore Further about Product Assortment and Price Competition under Multinomial Logit Demand
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar, Yonatan Gur, and Assaf Zeevi
. “Optimization in Online Content Recommendation Services: Beyond Click-Through-Rates.”
Manufacturing & Service Operations
vol.
18
, (January 28, 2016):
15
-
33
.
Explore Further about Optimization in Online Content Recommendation Services: Beyond Click-Through-Rates
Download PDF on Optimization in Online Content Recommendation Services: Beyond Click-Through-Rates
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Assaf Zeevi
. “On the (Surprising) Sufficiency of Linear Models for Dynamic Pricing with Demand Learning.”
Management Science
vol.
61
, (April 01, 2015):
723
-
739
.
Explore Further about On the (Surprising) Sufficiency of Linear Models for Dynamic Pricing with Demand Learning
Download PDF on On the (Surprising) Sufficiency of Linear Models for Dynamic Pricing with Demand Learning
Journal Article
Balseiro, Santiago R. and Omar Besbes
. “Repeated Auctions with Budgets in Ad Exchanges: Approximations and Design.”
Management Science
vol.
61
, (April 01, 2015):
864
-
884
.
Explore Further about Repeated Auctions with Budgets in Ad Exchanges: Approximations and Design
Download PDF on Repeated Auctions with Budgets in Ad Exchanges: Approximations and Design
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Ilan Lobel
. “Intertemporal Price Discrimination: Structure and Computation of Optimal Policies.”
Management Science
vol.
61
, (January 01, 2015):
92
-
110
.
Explore Further about Intertemporal Price Discrimination: Structure and Computation of Optimal Policies
Download PDF on Intertemporal Price Discrimination: Structure and Computation of Optimal Policies
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar, Yonatan Gur, and Assaf Zeevi
. “Non-Stationary Stochastic Optimization.”
Operations Research
vol.
63
, (January 01, 2015):
1227
-
1244
.
Explore Further about Non-Stationary Stochastic Optimization
Download PDF on Non-Stationary Stochastic Optimization
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Denis Saure
. “Dynamic Pricing Strategies in the Presence of Demand Shifts.”
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
vol.
16
, (January 01, 2014):
513
-
528
.
Explore Further about Dynamic Pricing Strategies in the Presence of Demand Shifts
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Alp Muharremoglu
. “On implications of demand censoring in the newsvendor problem.”
Management Science
vol.
6
, (June 01, 2013):
1407
-
1424
.
Explore Further about On implications of demand censoring in the newsvendor problem
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Costis Maglaras
. “Dynamic Pricing with Financial Milestones: Feedback-Form Policies.”
Management Science
vol.
58
, no.
9
(September 01, 2012):
1715
-
1731
.
Explore Further about Dynamic Pricing with Financial Milestones: Feedback-Form Policies
Download PDF on Dynamic Pricing with Financial Milestones: Feedback-Form Policies
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Assaf Zeevi
. “Blind Network Revenue Management.”
Operations Research
vol.
60
, (January 01, 2012):
1537
-
1550
.
Explore Further about Blind Network Revenue Management
Download PDF on Blind Network Revenue Management
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Assaf Zeevi
. “On the minimax complexity of pricing in a changing environment.”
Operations Research
vol.
59
, (January 01, 2011):
66
-
79
.
Explore Further about On the minimax complexity of pricing in a changing environment
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Assaf Zeevi
. “Testing the Validity of a Demand Model: An Operations Perspective.”
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
vol.
12
, (January 01, 2010):
162
-
183
.
Explore Further about Testing the Validity of a Demand Model: An Operations Perspective
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Costis Maglaras
. “Revenue Optimization for a Make-to-Order Queue in an Uncertain Market Environment.”
Operations Research
vol.
57
, no.
6
(November 01, 2009):
1438
-
1450
.
Explore Further about Revenue Optimization for a Make-to-Order Queue in an Uncertain Market Environment
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Assaf Zeevi
. “Dynamic Pricing Without Knowing the Demand Function: Risk Bounds and Near-Optimal Algorithms.”
Operations Research
vol.
57
, (November 01, 2009):
1407
-
1420
.
Explore Further about Dynamic Pricing Without Knowing the Demand Function: Risk Bounds and Near-Optimal Algorithms
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Sergei Savin
. “Going Bunkers: The Joint Route Selection and Refueling Problem.”
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
vol.
11
, (January 01, 2009):
694
-
711
.
Explore Further about Going Bunkers: The Joint Route Selection and Refueling Problem
Working Paper
Besbes, Omar, Santiago Balseiro , Jerry Anunrojwong , and Bolun Xu
. Battery Operations in Electricity Markets: Strategic Behavior and Distortions. April 27, 2025.
Explore Further about Battery Operations in Electricity Markets: Strategic Behavior and Distortions
Working Paper
Besbes, Omar, Juan Manuel Chaneton, and Ciamac Moallemi
. The Exploration-Exploitation Trade-off in the Newsvendor Problem. November 04, 2021.
Explore Further about The Exploration-Exploitation Trade-off in the Newsvendor Problem
Working Paper
Allouah, Amine, Achraf Bahamou, and Omar Besbes
. Pricing with Samples. June 01, 2021.
Explore Further about Pricing with Samples
Working Paper
Besbes, Omar and Omar Mouchtaki
. How Big Should Your Data Really Be? Data-Driven Newsvendor and the Transient of Learning. March 15, 2021.
Explore Further about How Big Should Your Data Really Be? Data-Driven Newsvendor and the Transient of Learning
Working Paper
Besbes, Omar, Yuri Fonseca, and Ilan Lobel
. Contextual Inverse Optimization: Offline and Online Learning. January 01, 2021.
Explore Further about Contextual Inverse Optimization: Offline and Online Learning
Working Paper
Allouah, Amine, Achraf Bahamou, and Omar Besbes
. Optimal Pricing with a Single Point. January 01, 2021.
Explore Further about Optimal Pricing with a Single Point
Working Paper
Allouah, Amine and Omar Besbes
. Auctions in the Online Display Advertising Chain: A Case for Independent Campaign Management. June 05, 2017.
Explore Further about Auctions in the Online Display Advertising Chain: A Case for Independent Campaign Management
Working Paper
Besbes, Omar, Juan Manuel Chaneton, and Ciamac Moallemi
. The exploration-exploitation tradeoff in the newsvendor problem. November 01, 2014.
Explore Further about The exploration-exploitation tradeoff in the newsvendor problem
Download PDF on The exploration-exploitation tradeoff in the newsvendor problem
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Singal, Raghav, Omar Besbes , Antoine Desir, Vineet Goyal, and Garud Iyengar
. “Shapley Meets Uniform: An Axiomatic Framework for Attribution in Online Advertising.”
Management Science
. Forthcoming.
Explore Further about Shapley Meets Uniform: An Axiomatic Framework for Attribution in Online Advertising
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Besbes, Omar, Francisco Castro, and Ilan Lobel
. “Spatial Capacity Planning.”
Operations Research
. Forthcoming.
Explore Further about Spatial Capacity Planning
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Besbes, Omar, Adam N. Elmachtoub, and Yunjie Sun
. “Static Pricing: Universal Guarantees for Reusable Resources.”
Operations Research
. May 02, 2019.
Explore Further about Static Pricing: Universal Guarantees for Reusable Resources
  • Courses
  • Case Studies
Course
B6101: Business Analytics
View Course on Business Analytics
Course
B9150: Foundations of Operations Management
View Course on Foundations of Operations Management
Course
B9137: DRO Topics Seminar
View Course on DRO Topics Seminar
Case Study
Besbes, Omar
. testing. 
test
:
Academic Press
, 2018.
Explore Further about testing
Download PDF on testing
Case Study
Olivares, Marcelo, Trevor Harris , Omar Besbes , and Gabriel Weintraub
. Lean Operations: From Efficiency to Profit. 
Columbia University
:
CaseWorks
, 2011.
Explore Further about Lean Operations: From Efficiency to Profit
Case Study
Harris, Trevor, Omar Besbes , and Marcelo Olivares
. Lean Operations: From Efficiency to Profits. 
tk
: 2011.
Explore Further about Lean Operations: From Efficiency to Profits
  • Awards & Honors
  • In the Media
  • Articles
Article

Using AI in the Classroom at Columbia Business School

Read More about Using AI in the Classroom at Columbia Business School
Article

Three Key Insights on the Future of Prediction

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Article

Refining and Rethinking Digital Decision-Making

Read More about Refining and Rethinking Digital Decision-Making
Article

Columbia Business School Expands Digital Future Initiative

Read More about Columbia Business School Expands Digital Future Initiative
Article

The Intersection of Data & Human Experience

Read More about The Intersection of Data & Human Experience
Article

DRO PhD students accept faculty positions at UCLA, UNC, and Imperial College London

Read More about DRO PhD students accept faculty positions at UCLA, UNC, and Imperial College London
Article

School Welcomes New Faculty Members

Read More about School Welcomes New Faculty Members
  • CaseWorks
Case ID
250201

Connecting the Dots for NYC Clean Power: The Case of NineDot Energy

What are the logistical challenges inherent in a company’s clean energy business model, using analytical techniques?

View Case on Connecting the Dots for NYC Clean Power: The Case of NineDot Energy
Case ID
210211

At the Frontier of Retail in the 21st Century: Modern Fulfillment and The Case of FlexiWeight

With a goal to revolutionize the way America exercises, can Flexiweight find the right fulfillment model to deliver on its mission?

View Case on At the Frontier of Retail in the 21st Century: Modern Fulfillment and The Case of FlexiWeight
Case ID
210210

Continuous Quality Monitoring via Data and Analytics at Patina Beauty

How should Patina Beauty's analytics team respond to a spike in online complaints from its Chinese customers?

View Case on Continuous Quality Monitoring via Data and Analytics at Patina Beauty
Case ID
210204

Music Streaming

Would the listener base for music streaming services continue to grow—and would services be able to differentiate themselves in this increasingly competitive industry?

View Case on Music Streaming
Case ID
140204

DSS

View Case on DSS
Case ID
140206

Tahoe Healthcare Systems

Has Tahoe Healthcare's CareTracker system effectively—and cost efficiently—reduced the readmission rate in its pilot program?

View Case on Tahoe Healthcare Systems
Case ID
140205

H&K

View Case on H&K
Case ID
140202

Pandora Internet Radio

View Case on Pandora Internet Radio
Case ID
110206SPA

Beleza Natural (Spanish Translation)

How should the management of a highly successful chain of beauty institutes respond to operational challenges in the face of rapid growth?

View Case on Beleza Natural (Spanish Translation)
Case ID
140201

Nomis Solutions (A and B)

How will a startup company planning to offer pricing-optimization solutions to financial service firms persuade potential clients to use their products and services?

View Case on Nomis Solutions (A and B)
Case ID
112105

Lean Operations: From Efficiency to Profit

What are the potential implications of broadly implementing the Toyota Production System for GM's production strategy and profitability?

View Case on Lean Operations: From Efficiency to Profit
Case ID
110206

Beleza Natural

How should the management of a highly successful chain of beauty institutes respond to operational challenges in the face of rapid growth?

View Case on Beleza Natural
Case ID
110204

Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital

How should the CEO of a major metropolitan hospital address congestion and prolonged wait times in the emergency department?

View Case on Emergency Department Congestion at Saintemarie University Hospital

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