We study how digitization affects the efficacy of high-touch interactions, specifically by looking at the relative value of in-person versus virtual interactions (e.g., WebEx, Facetime). In a direct sales context, our empirical strategy exploits a pseudo-random experiment performed on thousands...

Despite playing an important role in many economies, Multilevel Marketing (MLM) firms and their sales agents have been understudied in the marketing literature. The agents receive compensation that is 100% commission based and can recruit and develop a network of sub-agents. The commission rates...

Platform recognition in the form of non-financial incentives such as badges, status, and ranks are commonly employed to incentivize user contributions. We study one such incentive, "status", in the context of a user-generated content platform, specifically a third-party online restaurant-review...

What determines structure and profitability across markets for goods and services? Understanding the relationship between market structure and performance is critical for determining effective economic policy governing anti-trust, intellectual property, industry regulation, and international...