Karen Xie

Associate Professor

OPIM

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Karen Xie is an Associate Professor of Operations and Information Management at the School of Business, University of Connecticut. Her research centers on algorithms and AI, platform economics, and market design, yielding publications in Management Science and other premier operations and information management journals. Karen’s work has garnered Best Paper Awards from CIST and ICIS as well as highly competitive funding from Zillow, Meta (Facebook), Marketing Science Institute, NET Institute, and Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative.

Especially notable is her series of work on Airbnb, which advised government agencies such as the Denver City Council to pass game-changing legislations on short-term rentals in 2016. Her expert opinion is frequently featured in popular press venues, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NBC News, and Chicago Tribune. She herself is an entrepreneur and co-founder of HomeLab Technologies (an algorithm-driven vacation rental investment company) and oversees a multi-million portfolio that is fast-growing in niche destinations across North America.

A curriculum innovator, Karen has developed courses at graduate and undergraduate levels and was a founding faculty of the Revenue Management & Analytics concentration at DU. She is a tireless advisor to student consulting projects at UConn, serving local and global partners such as PepsiCo, LEGO, AutoShopIQ, and Bastion Health. Together, these programs have placed hundreds of students in data analyst and project manager positions.

Outside of work, Karen is a ski enthusiast. In winter, she is often found on double-diamond ski runs of North America’s epic mountains. A multicultural observer, Karen holds a Ph.D. from Temple University Fox School of Business, an M.Phil from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and a Bachelor from Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Prior to pursuing her academic career, Karen was an analyst at Accenture, an IT management consulting firm. (LinkedIn)

Areas of Work

Algorithms and AI | Platform Economics | Market Design

Recent Publications

“Engaging physicians with introductory incentives: The role of online and offline references” (with Xiaofei Zhang, Bin Gu & Xitong Guo) MIS Quarterly (2025)

“Quality differentiation and matching in peer-to-peer markets: Evidence from Airbnb Plus” (with Hongchang Wang, Benjamin Williams, & Wei Chen) Management Science (2023)

“Regulating professional players in peer-to-peer markets: Evidence from Airbnb” (with Wei Chen & Zaiyan Wei) Management Science (2022), 69(5), 2547-3155

“The battle for homes: How does home sharing disrupt local residential markets?” (with Wei Chen & Zaiyan Wei) Management Science (2022), 68(12), 8515-9218 Lead Article

“Recreational cannabis legalization and illicit drugs: Drug usage, mortality, and darknet transactions” (with Louis Liu & Wei Chen) Production and Operations Management (2025), 34(1), 99-119

“Enhancing attraction experiences through home sharing: Evidence from customer review analytics” (with Jianwei Liu) Production and Operations Management (2025)

“Follow my lead? Impacts of multi-dimensional expert reviews on subsequent consumer ratings” (with Demei Kong and Jun Yang) Production and Operations Management (2025)

“How incumbents beat disruption? Evidence from hotel responses to home sharing” (with Jianwei Liu, Wei Chen, Yong Liu, & Yunlong Sun) Production and Operations Management (2023), 32(9), 2758-2774