Online labor markets have great potential as platforms for conducting experiments, as they provide immediate access to a large and diverse subject pool and allow researchers to conduct randomized controlled trials. We argue that online experiments can be just as valid – both internally...

Online retailers have to provide customers with an estimate of how fast an order can be delivered before they purchase it. This delivery speed promise is what online retailers can strategically adjust at almost no cost but what may fundamentally impact business outcomes. It influences consumers'...

The underlying premise of referral marketing is to target existing, ostensibly delighted customers to spread awareness and influence adoption of a focal product amongst their friends who are also likely to benefit from adopting the product. In other words, referral programs are designed to...

A solution to marketplace information asymmetries is to have trading partners publicly rate each other post-transaction. Many have shown that these ratings are effective; we show that their effectiveness deteriorates over time. The problem is that ratings are prone to inflation, with raters...

E-commerce platforms can integrate with Facebook to let users directly comment on product pages using their Facebook accounts, a practice known as social media integration. Such integration can boost customer conversion by conveying credible information about product popularity and quality....

A solution to marketplace information asymmetries is to have trading partners publicly rate each other post-transaction. Many have shown these ratings are effective; we show that their effectiveness deteriorates over time. The problem is that ratings are prone to inflation, with raters feeling...

Feedback scores in an online marketplace have risen sharply over time, leading to substantial top-censoring. Some of the increase is explained by more satisfied raters, but at least 35-45% is attributable to raters applying lower standards. We show that this “reputation inflation” is the...

Firms are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically create personalized products (e.g., custom photo products, home designs) for consumers. While AI automation substantially saves consumer effort, it may also reduce consumer engagement potentially leading to a high...

Platform marketplaces can potentially steer buyers to certain sellers by recommending or guaranteeing those sellers. Money-back guarantees—which create a direct financial stake for the platform in seller performance—might be particularly effective at steering, as they align buyer and...