Three essays on service operations

Abstract

Prof. Jianfu Wang, for his endless patience, insightful guidance and unreserved encouragement on my life and research, and immense help, both mentally and financially. Prof. Jianfu Wang left Nanyang Business School during the fourth year of my Ph.D. study; yet this departure has not at all detracted from his support as an advisor. This dissertation would not be accomplished with his tireless mentorship.I am also grateful to my advisor and once-chair of my thesis committee, Prof.Chien-Ming Chen, who has kindly agreed to co-supervise me. Thank you for your unwavering help whenever I encountered difficulties in research and life, for taking time to review my work, and for providing guidance during my Ph.D. journey. I would also like to thank my thesis committee: Prof. Chua Geoffrey Bryan Ang and Prof. Zhenzhen Yan, for their valuable time devoted to this work and their constructive comments to improve the thesis. I want to express my special thanks to my coauthors: Prof. Opher Baron, Prof.