Research Interest

Always evolving. Currently:

• Revenue management and pricing
• Approximate dynamic programming (also called reinforcement learning)
• Data-driven decision making
  
  

Refereed Journal Articles (Google Scholar Profile)

• Wei Gu, Xiaohui Zhao, Xiangbing Yan, and Dan Zhang. 2025. Impacts of Unscheduled Services on Outpatient Care. Forthcoming, Decision Sciences.

• Jianghua Wu, Dan Zhang, Yan Liu. 2025. Markovian Pricing with Price Guarantees. Production and Operations Management, 34(7) 1939–1956.

• Saied Samiedaluie, Dan Zhang, and Rui Zhang. 2024. Approximate Linear Programming for a Queueing Control Problem. Computers & Operations Research, 169, 106711.

• Yan Liu and Dan Zhang. 2024. Intra-Consumer Price Discrimination with Credit Refund Policies. Management Science, 70(10): 6835-6851.

• Xu Chen, Xiaojun Wang, Dan Zhang, and Mingfang Yang. 2023. Selling models for platforms under service-sensitive demand. Omega, 115, 102794.

• Rui Zhang, Saied Samiedaluie, and Dan Zhang. 2022. Product-based Approximate Linear Programs for Network Revenue Management. Operations Research, 70(5):2837-2850.

  • The NRM instances in this paper can be downloaded here.

• Thomas Vossen, Fan You, and Dan Zhang. 2022. Finite Horizon Approximations for an Infinite Horizon Revenue Management Problem. Production and Operations Management, 31(5): 2127-2142.

• Sung Ham, Chuan He, and Dan Zhang. 2022. The Promise and Peril of Dynamic Targeted Pricing. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 39(4):1150-1165.

• Qian Liu, Yongbo Xiao, and Dan Zhang. 2022. Opaque Selling of Multiple Substitutable Products with Finite Inventories. Naval Research Logistics, 69(4):529-549.

• Wu Jing, Zhang Dan, Yang Yang, Wang Gongshu, and Su Lijie. 2022. Multi-Stage Multi-Product Production and Inventory Planning for Cold Rolling under Random Yield. Mathematics, 10(4):597.

• Yan Liu, Yacheng Sun, and Dan Zhang. 2021. An Analysis of "Buy X, Get One Free" Reward Programs. Operations Research, 69(6): 1823-1841.

  • A Harvard Business Review article summarizing the findings of this paper and Sun and Zhang (2019, see below) can be found here.

• Xiao Huang and Dan Zhang. 2020. Service Product Design and Consumer Refund Policies. Marketing Science, 39(2): 285-457.

• Jiannan Ke, Dan Zhang, and Huan Zheng. 2019. An Approximate Dynamic Programming Approach to Dynamic Pricing for Network Revenue Management. Production and Operations Management, 28(11): 2719-2737.

• Yacheng Sun and Dan Zhang. 2019. A Model of Customer Reward Programs with Finite Expiration Terms. Management Science, 65(8): 3889-3903.

• Nelson Granados, Kunsoo Han, and Dan Zhang. 2018. Demand and Revenue Impacts of an Opaque Channel: Evidence from the Airline Industry. Production and Operations Management, 27(11): 2010-2024.

• Saied Samiedaluie, Beste Kucukyazici, Vedat Verter, and Dan Zhang. 2017. Managing Patient Admissions in a Neurology Ward. Operations Research, 65(3): 635-656.

• Dan Zhang and Larry Weatherford. 2017. Dynamic Pricing for Network Revenue Management: A New Approach and Application in the Hotel Industry. INFORMS Journal on Computing, 29(1): 18-35.

• Xiaofeng Nie, Tamer Boyacı, Mehmet Gumus, Saibal Ray, and Dan Zhang. 2017. Joint Procurement and Demand-Side Bidding Strategies under Price Volatility. Annals of Operations Research, 257(1-2): 121-165.

• Xiao Huang, Tamer Boyacı, Mehmet Gumus, Saibal Ray, and Dan Zhang. 2016. United We Stand or Divided We Stand? Strategic Supplier Alliances under Order Default Risk. Management Science, 62(5): 1297-1315.

• Mark Zais and Dan Zhang. 2016. A Markov Chain Model of Military Personnel Dynamics. International Journal of Production Research, 54(6): 1863-1885.

• Thomas Vossen and Dan Zhang. 2015. Reductions of Approximate Linear Programs for Network Revenue Management. Operations Research, 63(6): 1352-1371.

• Thomas Vossen and Dan Zhang. 2015. A Dynamic Disaggregation Approach to Approximate Linear Programs for Network Revenue Management. Production and Operations Management, 24(3): 488-503.

• Annabelle Feng, Sirong Luo, and Dan Zhang. 2014. Dynamic Inventory-Pricing Control under Backorder: Demand Estimation and Policy Optimization. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, 16(1): 149--160.

• Wenqing Zhang, Shanling Li, Dan Zhang, and Wenhua Hou. 2014. On the Impact of Advertising Initiatives in Supply Chains. European Journal of Operational Research, 234(1): 99--107.

• Yalcin Akcay, Tamer Boyaci and Dan Zhang. 2013. Selling with Money-Back Guarantees: The Impact on Prices, Quantities, and Retail Profitability. Production and Operations Management, 22(4): 777--791.

• Dan Zhang and Zhaosong Lu. 2013. Assessing the Value of Dynamic Pricing in Network Revenue Management. INFORMS Journal on Computing, 25(1): 102--115.

• Qian Liu and Dan Zhang. 2013. Dynamic Pricing Competition with Strategic Customers under Vertical Product Differentiation. Management Science, 59(1): 84--101.

• Adam Mersereau and Dan Zhang. 2012. Markdown Pricing with Unknown Fraction of Strategic Customers. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, 14(3): 355--370.

• Weifen Zhuang, Mehmet Gumus, and Dan Zhang. 2012. A Single-Resource Revenue Management Problem with Random Resource Consumptions. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 63, 1213--1227.

• Dan Zhang. 2011. An Improved Dynamic Programming Decomposition Approach for Network Revenue Management. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, 13(1): 35-52.

• Dan Zhang and Daniel Adelman. 2009. An Approximate Dynamic Programming Approach to Network Revenue Management with Customer Choice. Transportation Science, 43(3): 381--394.

• Dan Zhang and William L. Cooper. 2009. Pricing Substitutable Flights in Airline Revenue Management. European Journal of Operational Research, 197(3): 848--861

• Dan Zhang and Royce Kallesen. 2008. Incorporating Competitive Price Information in Revenue Management. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, 7: 17--26.

• Dan Zhang and William L. Cooper. 2008. Managing Clearance Sales in the Presence of Strategic Customers. Production and Operations Management, 17(4): 416--431.

• Dan Zhang and William L. Cooper. 2005. Revenue Management for Parallel Flights with Customer Choice Behavior. Operations Research, 53(3): 415--43.

Practitioner Articles

• Yacheng Sun, Jonathan Z. Zhang, and Dan Zhang (2022). When - and how - to build hurdles into a loyalty program. Harvard Business Review. June.

Selected Working Papers

• Faheng Deng, Junyi Dong, Yanzhi Li, and Dan Zhang. 2025. Joint Dynamic Channel Management and Pricing.

• Xiao Huang and Dan Zhang. 2025. Weather Guarantees for Experience Products.

• Saied Samiedaluie, Dan Zhang, and Rui Zhang. 2024. Probabilistic Approximations for Network Revenue Management.

• Jiannan Ke, Dan Zhang, and Huan Zheng. 2025. Compact Reformulations of Approximate Linear Programs for Finite-Horizon Markov Decision Processes.

• Yan Liu, Jingmai Wang, Yulan Wang, and Dan Zhang. 2025. A Model of Coalition Reward Programs.

• Chengyi Lyu and Dan Zhang. 2024. Customer Reward Programs for Two-Sided Markets.

• Xiao Huang, Gloria Urrea, and Dan Zhang. 2024. The Impact of Pricing on Cancellations in the Hotel Industry.

• Yanzhe Lei, Rui Zhang, Zhongzhong Jiang, and Dan Zhang. 2025. Joint Dynamic Optimization of Pricing and Personalized Recommendations in Online Retailing.

• Zlatana Nenova, Manuel Laguna, and Dan Zhang. 2021. Approximate Dynamic Programming for Medical Appointment Scheduling.

• Dan Zhang. 2008. Pricing and Capacity Management for Multi-Class Stochastic Service Systems. Permanent working paper.