Faculty Research: Focus on AI

April 24, 2026
As artificial intelligence changes the operational landscape for organizations across the globe, researchers at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst have risen to the challenge of explor

As artificial intelligence changes the operational landscape for organizations across the globe, researchers at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst have risen to the challenge of exploring how the developing technologies can be harnessed by businesses to improve their interactions with customers and employees.

I’m proud to have Isenberg be the academic home of groundbreaking researchers such as Monideepa Tarafdar, our Charles J. Dockendorff Endowed Professor in Information Systems, who has been studying “technostress” for several years, and who publishes prolifically in top journals. Her most recent publications focus on the very important questions of bias in machine learning and how organizations maintain transparency around their AI use. A faculty member in our hospitality and tourism management department, Associate Professor Irem Onder, has been digging into how AI is changing systems in that industry, including its use in evaluating online reviews. And Marta Stelmaszak Rosa, assistant professor of information systems, has just published the Research Handbook on Digital Data: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, a book she co-edited, which brings together researchers from disparate fields to understand the implications of working with digital data, including in AI contexts.

The following represent just a few of the Isenberg faculty engaged in AI-related research projects:

 

Melissa Baker

Melissa Baker, PhD, Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management and Jaime ’76 and Cindy Pereira Faculty Fellow

Baker and her coauthors conducted research examining how consumers respond to AI advice following a service failure in foodservice settings. As customers are increasingly using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT for advice, this research examined how the source of advice following a service failure (AI vs. human) influences perceptions of trustworthiness and consumer responses. The findings are important as consumers are increasingly using AI for advice on how they can respond to firms and managers need to be aware of how this shifts service failure and recovery strategies. 

Recent presentation:

  • When a foodservice business fails and artificial intelligence offers legal advice. Presented at the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education Conference

 

 

Jennifer Han

Jennifer Han, PhD, Assistant Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Han’s research mainly focuses on human–technology interaction in service settings, examining how individuals respond to AI-embedded systems such as autonomous delivery robots, VR/AR applications, and vertical farming technologies in restaurant and hospitality contexts.

Recent publications:

 

 

Zhanfei Lei.jpg

Zhanfei Lei, Assistant Professor of Operations and Information Management

Lei studies how emerging AI technologies shape the way people evaluate information and make decisions. Building on her work studying online reviews, she examines how AI-generated content (such as summaries) influences which information people pay attention to, how they search for it, and how much they trust it. More broadly, she aims to understand when people rely on AI versus resist it, and how design features of AI systems influence users' evaluations, decisions, and adoption behaviors.

Recent conference papers:

  • From Predictive to Generative AI: Exploring Algorithm Aversion vs. Appreciation. Presented at the International Conference on Information Systems
  • Navigating Reviews: How AI Summaries Shape Consumer Information Seeking. Presented at the Workshop on e-Business (received the 2025 Michael J. Shaw Best Paper Award)

 

 

Irem Onder Neuhofer

Irem Onder, Associate Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Onder studies how AI tools like ChatGPT can help hospitality businesses quickly analyze customer feedback and improve service. Her work focuses on making AI practical and accessible, so organizations can use it effectively without technical expertise.

Recent publications:

 

 

Peng

Lavi Peng, Assistant Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Peng’s research investigates human–AI interaction in the hospitality and tourism sector. She examines how these interactions shape consumer psychology, emotional responses, and behavior, with implications for areas such as food choices and sustainability.

Recent publications:

 

 

Stelmaszak

Marta Stelmaszak Rosa, Assistant Professor of Information Systems

Stelmaszak Rosa researches digital data in organizations, with a focus on their innovation, responsibility, and value. Her recent MIS Quarterly (open access) publication is a study of algorithmic autonomy in ride-hailing platforms like Uber, finding that it is not a single algorithm making decisions, but a network of algorithms that delegate activities to humans (drivers, passengers, or platform workers) in distributed and sometimes nearly invisible ways, which has implications for how we understand and study artificial intelligence.

Stelmaszak Rosa's new co-edited book, Research Handbook on Digital Data: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, brings together researchers from areas such as sociology, computer science, and public policy to create a resource for understanding the ways that digital data can change the nature of what they describe, including in artificial intelligence contexts.

Recent publications:

  • Artificial intelligence as an organizing capability arising from human‐algorithm relations. Journal of Management Studies
  • When algorithms delegate to humans: Exploring human-algorithm interaction at Uber. MIS Quarterly

 

 

Monideepa Tarafdar

Monideepa Tarafdar, Charles J. Dockendorff Endowed Professor in Information Systems and Public Interest Technology Fellow

Tarafdar, the editor-in chief of Journal of the AIS, was one of the first scholars to study “technostress” (stress from the use of technology) and has produced influential research on the dark and bright sides of technology use, such as social media addiction and email overload. Tarafdar's interest in AI in business focuses on transparency, accountability, fairness and human primacy. She researches how people retain control over and confidence in using AI in business decision making, and how organizations ensure transparency and fairness in AI-driven decisions and processes among executives and workers.

Recent publications:

 

 

Jeffrey Robert

Jeffrey Robert, Lecturer of Finance

Robert studies AI as it pertains to student outcomes and education. His working paper, titled "Leveraging AI to Create Simulations for Student Learning," addresses the pedagogical gap in traditional finance and real estate education, which emphasizes theory and financial calculations but rarely gives students practice in critical interpersonal skills like negotiation, persuasion, and conflict resolution. The research uses AI-driven community meeting simulations, which feature distinct personas with varying motivations and emotional intensity that students engage with through real-time spoken Q&A in VR headsets, with the AI providing transcripts, summary feedback, and coaching. Robert also moderated a panel at the 2026 American Real Estate Society conference exploring how AI-driven solutions enhance experiential learning.