A firm may want to preannounce its plans to develop a new product in order to stimulate future demand. But given that such communications can affect rivals' incentives to develop the same new product, a firm may decide to preannounce untruthfully in order to deter competitors. We examine an...

A firm may want to preannounce its plans to develop a new product in order to stimulate future demand. But given that such communications can affect rivals' incentives to develop the same new product, a firm may decide to preannounce untruthfully in order to deter competitors. We examine an...

The research presented in this paper provides evidence that add-on features sold to enhance a product can be more than just discretionary benefits. We argue that consumers draw inferences from the mere availability of add-ons, which in turn lead to significant changes in the perceived utility of...

We study how digital service firms can develop an active customer base, focusing on two questions. First, how does the way customers use the service post-adoption to meet their own needs (personal usage) and to interact with one another (social usage) vary across customer acquisition methods?...

We study how user-generated content (UGC) about new products impacts a firm's advertising and pricing decisions as well as the effect on profits and market dynamics. We construct a two-period model, where consumers value quality and are heterogeneous in their taste for the new product's...

Innovations typically embody novel features or cutting-edge components aimed at delivering desired customer benefits. Oftentimes, however, we observe the need to recall new products shortly after their launch. Indeed, a firm may rush an innovation to market in an attempt to preempt rivals and...