IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ejores/v214y2011i2p284-297.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Equilibrium and optimal strategies to join a queue with partial information on service times

Author

Listed:
  • Guo, Pengfei
  • Sun, Wei
  • Wang, Yulan

Abstract

In this paper, we study customer equilibrium as well as socially optimal strategies to join a queue with only partial information on the service time distribution such as moments and the range. Based on such partial information, customers adopt the entropy-maximization principle to obtain the expectation of their waiting cost and decide to join or balk. We find that more information encourages customers to join the queue. And it is beneficial for decision makers to convey partial information to customers in welfare maximization but reveal full information in profit maximization.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Pengfei & Sun, Wei & Wang, Yulan, 2011. "Equilibrium and optimal strategies to join a queue with partial information on service times," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 214(2), pages 284-297, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:214:y:2011:i:2:p:284-297
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221711003523
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guo, Pengfei & Zipkin, Paul, 2009. "The effects of the availability of waiting-time information on a balking queue," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 198(1), pages 199-209, October.
    2. Rouba Ibrahim & Ward Whitt, 2009. "Real-Time Delay Estimation Based on Delay History," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 11(3), pages 397-415, May.
    3. Pengfei Guo & Paul Zipkin, 2007. "Analysis and Comparison of Queues with Different Levels of Delay Information," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(6), pages 962-970, June.
    4. Hassin, Refael, 1986. "Consumer Information in Markets with Random Product Quality: The Case of Queues and Balking," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(5), pages 1185-1195, September.
    5. Jouini, Oualid & Dallery, Yves & Aksin, Zeynep, 2009. "Queueing models for full-flexible multi-class call centers with real-time anticipated delays," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(2), pages 389-399, August.
    6. Rouba Ibrahim & Ward Whitt, 2009. "Real-Time Delay Estimation in Overloaded Multiserver Queues with Abandonments," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(10), pages 1729-1742, October.
    7. Naor, P, 1969. "The Regulation of Queue Size by Levying Tolls," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 37(1), pages 15-24, January.
    8. Bobby N. W. Ma & Jon W. Mark, 1995. "Approximation of the Mean Queue Length of an M/G/c Queueing System," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 43(1), pages 158-165, February.
    9. Lawrence Brown & Noah Gans & Avishai Mandelbaum & Anat Sakov & Haipeng Shen & Sergey Zeltyn & Linda Zhao, 2005. "Statistical Analysis of a Telephone Call Center: A Queueing-Science Perspective," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 100, pages 36-50, March.
    10. Mor Armony & Nahum Shimkin & Ward Whitt, 2009. "The Impact of Delay Announcements in Many-Server Queues with Abandonment," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 57(1), pages 66-81, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ying Shi & Xin Li & Ping Fan, 2016. "Optimization of an M/M/∞ Queueing System with Free Experience Service," Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research (APJOR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 33(06), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Zhou, Wenhui & Lian, Zhaotong & Wu, Jinbiao, 2014. "When should service firms provide free experience service?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 234(3), pages 830-838.
    3. Stark, Oded & Budzinski, Wiktor & Kosiorowski, Grzegorz, 2019. "Switching queues, cultural conventions, and social welfare," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 278(3), pages 837-844.
    4. Zhang, Zhe George & Yin, Xiaoling, 2021. "Information and pricing effects in two-tier public service systems," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    5. Knight, Vincent A. & Harper, Paul R., 2013. "Selfish routing in public services," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 230(1), pages 122-132.
    6. Benioudakis, Myron & Burnetas, Apostolos & Ioannou, George, 2021. "Lead-time quotations in unobservable make-to-order systems with strategic customers: Risk aversion, load control and profit maximization," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 289(1), pages 165-176.
    7. Ying Shi & Zhaotong Lian, 2016. "Equilibrium Strategies and Optimal Control for a Double-Ended Queue," Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research (APJOR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 33(03), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Shiliang Cui & Senthil Veeraraghavan, 2016. "Blind Queues: The Impact of Consumer Beliefs on Revenues and Congestion," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(12), pages 3656-3672, December.
    9. Shone, Rob & Knight, Vincent A. & Williams, Janet E., 2013. "Comparisons between observable and unobservable M/M/1 queues with respect to optimal customer behavior," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 227(1), pages 133-141.
    10. Olga Boudali & Antonis Economou, 2013. "The effect of catastrophes on the strategic customer behavior in queueing systems," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 60(7), pages 571-587, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Qiuping Yu & Gad Allon & Achal Bassamboo & Seyed Iravani, 2018. "Managing Customer Expectations and Priorities in Service Systems," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(8), pages 3942-3970, August.
    2. Oualid Jouini & Zeynep Akşin & Yves Dallery, 2011. "Call Centers with Delay Information: Models and Insights," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 534-548, October.
    3. Rouba Ibrahim, 2018. "Sharing delay information in service systems: a literature survey," Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 89(1), pages 49-79, June.
    4. Miao Yu & Yu Zhao & Chunguang Chang & Liangliang Sun, 2023. "Fluid models for customer service web chat systems with interactive automated service," Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 572-598, June.
    5. Rouba Ibrahim & Ward Whitt, 2011. "Wait-Time Predictors for Customer Service Systems with Time-Varying Demand and Capacity," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 59(5), pages 1106-1118, October.
    6. Pengfei Guo & Zhe George Zhang, 2013. "Strategic Queueing Behavior and Its Impact on System Performance in Service Systems with the Congestion-Based Staffing Policy," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 15(1), pages 118-131, September.
    7. Gad Allon & Achal Bassamboo, 2011. "The Impact of Delaying the Delay Announcements," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 59(5), pages 1198-1210, October.
    8. Zeynep Akşin & Baris Ata & Seyed Morteza Emadi & Che-Lin Su, 2017. "Impact of Delay Announcements in Call Centers: An Empirical Approach," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 65(1), pages 242-265, February.
    9. Zhang, Zhe George & Yin, Xiaoling, 2021. "Information and pricing effects in two-tier public service systems," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    10. Qiuping Yu & Gad Allon & Achal Bassamboo, 2021. "The Reference Effect of Delay Announcements: A Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(12), pages 7417-7437, December.
    11. Shone, Rob & Knight, Vincent A. & Williams, Janet E., 2013. "Comparisons between observable and unobservable M/M/1 queues with respect to optimal customer behavior," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 227(1), pages 133-141.
    12. Qiuping Yu & Gad Allon & Achal Bassamboo, 2017. "How Do Delay Announcements Shape Customer Behavior? An Empirical Study," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(1), pages 1-20, January.
    13. Zeynep Akşin & Barış Ata & Seyed Morteza Emadi & Che-Lin Su, 2013. "Structural Estimation of Callers' Delay Sensitivity in Call Centers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(12), pages 2727-2746, December.
    14. Rouba Ibrahim & Ward Whitt, 2009. "Real-Time Delay Estimation in Overloaded Multiserver Queues with Abandonments," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(10), pages 1729-1742, October.
    15. Ming Hu & Yang Li & Jianfu Wang, 2018. "Efficient Ignorance: Information Heterogeneity in a Queue," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(6), pages 2650-2671, June.
    16. Dimitrios Logothetis & Antonis Economou, 2023. "The impact of information on transportation systems with strategic customers," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(7), pages 2189-2206, July.
    17. Robert J. Batt & Christian Terwiesch, 2015. "Waiting Patiently: An Empirical Study of Queue Abandonment in an Emergency Department," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(1), pages 39-59, January.
    18. Shiliang Cui & Senthil Veeraraghavan, 2016. "Blind Queues: The Impact of Consumer Beliefs on Revenues and Congestion," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(12), pages 3656-3672, December.
    19. Brett A. Hathaway & Seyed M. Emadi & Vinayak Deshpande, 2021. "Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You: An Empirical Study of Caller Behavior Under a Callback Option," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(3), pages 1508-1526, March.
    20. Gad Allon & Achal Bassamboo & Itai Gurvich, 2011. "“We Will Be Right with You”: Managing Customer Expectations with Vague Promises and Cheap Talk," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 59(6), pages 1382-1394, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:214:y:2011:i:2:p:284-297. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eor .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.