Online anonymity has posed a significant threat on online reputation mechanisms and online identity management. How to improve the reliability and effectiveness of online reputation has thus become an important question of theoretical and practical interest. We examine a reputation market in an...

Because uncertainties around innovative technologies resolve over time, investments in such technologies are often made in stages so that organizations can use the knowledge gained from earlier stages to decide the next step. Previous studies usually assume that once some uncertainty is...

We investigate the effect of income distribution on R&D in a dynamic framework. Our model captures both the infinite R&D race among heterogeneous innovators and a market where successful innovators generate revenues. The market structure of successful innovations is endogenous – firms produce...

When a focal firm undergoes a product-harm crisis, non-focal firms offering similar products or services can suffer from a negative spillover effect but can also benefit from customers switching from the troubled focal firm, which we call the competitive effect. In response, a non-focal firm can...

Data-driven analysis has been increasingly used in various decision making processes. With more sources, including reviews, news, and photos, that can now be used for data analysis, the authenticity of data sources is in doubt. While previous literature attempted to detect fake data piece by...

Internet security is a major challenge in fulfilling the Internet's productivity potential. Without a secure Internet environment, individuals and organizations may not be able to efficiently connect through the Internet and could even refuse to connect due to security concerns. However, issues...

Numerous online information systems (e.g., question and answer (Q&A) forums, citizen science communities, and review websites) rely heavily on volunteer contributions. Managers have used monetary incentives to induce individuals to increase their contribution level. However, monetary incentives...

Digital technologies are creating more value and thus becoming more attractive to cyber criminals. Gary Becker provides a philosophy for understanding crimes from an economic perspective, but criminal behavior and potential policies against it differ in the context of a digital economy....

There are growing interests in understanding how word-of-mouth (WOM) on the Internet is generated and how it influences consumers' purchase decisions at retail outlets. A unique aspect of the WOM effect is the presence of a positive feedback mechanism between WOM and retail sales. We...

A consumer contest is a sales promotion technique that requires participants to apply certain skills as they compete for prizes or awards. This article is the first to employ a game-theoretical approach to investigate consumer contest design issues, including prize structure, segmentation, and...