As AI reaches a pivotal moment, Canada’s early leadership is being challenged by rapid global shifts. “Other nations are investing at unprecedented scale, while Canada risks falling behind if it does not act decisively,” says Maxime Cohen, Professor of Retail and Operations Management.
Each year, the world’s most influential researchers are recognized in the Stanford-Elsevier Top 2% Scientists lists. The list ranks researchers from around the world, based on the impacts of their citations, their h-index, and other bibliometric indicators. In 2025, nine McGill Desautels researchers earned the honour: Yolande E.
When AI sets wages, it pushes them higher, according to recent research by Maxime Cohen, a Professor of Retail and Operations Management at the Bensadoun School of Retail Management. Cohen conducted a study that asked AI to recommend wages for 60,000 freelance profiles in a variety of industries. He found that AI sets wages higher than humans do.
The emergence of e-commerce has made for a revolution in retail. Whenever you make a purchase online, you generate data, and that data allows for a higher degree of personalization.
Each year, Stanford University and the academic publishing company Elsevier celebrate the world’s most influential researchers with its top 2% list, which identifies the researchers who are most widely cited in their field. For the third year in a row, Maxime Cohen was among them. The Professor of Retail and Operations Management was recognized for being one of the most cited authors two fields: Business & Management and Operations Research subfields.
Business leaders understand that AI has the power to generate tremendous value, but it is IT teams that have a deeper understanding of the underlying processes and what’s going on behind the scenes. “They better understand the potential dangers and pitfalls,” says Maxime Cohen, Professor of Retail and Operational Management and Director of Research at the Bensadoun School of Retail Management. And because AI needs significant human oversight, they need to be involved in its ideation and deployment.

Authors: Hajime Shimao, Sung Joo Kim, Warut Khern-Am-Nuai and Maxime C. Cohen
Publication: Management Science
Forthcoming, Articles in Advance: published online 2 Apr 2025
Abstract::

Authors: Hajime Shimao, Warut Khern-Am-Nuai, Karthik Kannan, and Maxime C. Cohen
Publication: Information Systems Research
Forthcoming
Articles in Advance: published online 7 Apr 2025

The McGill Desautels Faculty of Management acknowledges the vital contributions of research, teaching, service, and public engagement in inspiring future leaders. Through our annual Faculty Awards, we celebrate the exceptional achievements of our faculty members across various programs and disciplines. This year, we are proud to honour the following distinguished individuals:
Research
Desautels Faculty Scholar Award: Ruslan Goyenko
CIUSSS West-Central Montreal is testing AI Scribe, an AI-powered tool designed to help physicians efficiently document patient consultations. Under the guidance of Professor Maxime Cohen, a leading AI expert and Scale AI Chair Professor at McGill, the initiative aims to reduce administrative burdens and enhance patient care.
The online news act was designed with legitimate objectives: enhancing fairness, supporting press independence, and promoting a diversity of news sources. Unfortunately, it has had some unintended negative consequences, according to Maxime Cohen, the Scale AI Chair in Data Science for Retail at McGill Desautels. “Meta responded by blocking Canadian news content from their platforms—Facebook and Instagram,” Cohen said in an interview with the Hub Dialogues podcast.
A 2022 study by researchers at McGill Desautels revealed that when shoppers were offered a promotion that gave them a choice between a healthy snack and a pastry with their coffee, sales of healthy snacks increased by more than 1000%.

Authors: Nymisha Bandi*, Maxime C. Cohen, and Saibal Ray
Publication: Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
Forthcoming
Articles in Advance: published online 12 August 2024
Abstract::
AI has become an omnipresent topic of discussion in our daily lives, both professionally and personally. While much has been written on the challenges, risks, and pitfalls of AI (and the strong need to regulate its development and deployment carefully), it's also important to highlight its numerous benefits and positive impacts on society and the economy.

McGill University hosted its annual Bravo Gala on Thursday, March 21, which honours its faculty members and researchers who have won special awards, memberships and prizes over the past year. McGill Desautels is proud to announce 14 of its faculty amongst the distinguished honourees this year. Congratulations to our deserving laureates! Full list below.
#Bravo2024
· Geneviève Bassellier, Best AMCIS Emergent Research Forum Paper, Americas Conference on Information Systems
