This paper examines probabilistic selling (PS) as an inventory management mechanism, paying special attention to the impact of the timing of product assignment to buyers of probabilistic goods. In practice, sellers tend to offer probabilistic products only after major demand uncertainty has been...

This paper uncovers the striking power of a product’s first consumer review. Our analytical model suggests that two key metrics of online consumer reviews, valence and volume, are not independent, but instead evolve interdependently. This interdependence forms a mechanism to transfer a...