Publications

April 2014
Tutorial

Conjoint Analysis: Online Tutorial

By: Elie Ofek and Olivier Toubia

The Conjoint Analysis: Online Tutorial is an interactive pedagogical vehicle intended to facilitate understanding of one of the most popular market research methods in academia and practice, namely conjoint analysis. The aim is to provide students or executives going... View Details

Keywords: Market Research; Conjoint Analysis; Market Segmentation; Pricing; Marketing Strategy

26 May 2014
News

Online Video Ads Blur Picture for Marketers

March 2023
Article

Learning to Successfully Hire in Online Labor Markets

By: Marios Kokkodis and Sam Ransbotham

Hiring in online labor markets involves considerable uncertainty: which hiring choices are more likely to yield successful outcomes and how do employers adjust their hiring behaviors to make such choices? We argue that employers will initially explore the value of... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Analysis; Decision Choices and Conditions

February 2018
Article

Auctions versus Posted Prices in Online Markets

By: Liran Einav, Chiara Farronato, Jonathan Levin and Neel Sundaresan

Auctions were very popular in the early days of internet commerce, but today online sellers mostly use posted prices. We model the choice between auctions and posted prices as a trade-off between competitive price discovery and convenience. Evidence from eBay fits the... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Auctions; Price

November 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Purple Innovation, Inc.: The Online to Offline Marketing Challenge

By: Elie Ofek and Nakisha Williams

This case focuses on Purple Innovation Inc. (Purple), a company that started out in the Direct to Consumer (DTC) mattress space. In late 2018, after a successful launch and IPO with sales predominantly originating from its website, Purple was looking to sustain its... View Details

Keywords: Offline Sales; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry

Educators

November 2014
Case

Taryn Rose Launches Dresr: Street Marketing a Luxury Brand

By: Lena G. Goldberg, Marcel Saucet and Christine Snively

Serial entrepreneur and shoe designer Taryn Rose, M.D., prepared to launch a new e-commerce platform, Dresr, which would connect shoppers with tastemakers online. Dresr would bring the service element found in brick and mortar luxury stores into the online shopping... View Details

Keywords: E-commerce; Online Platforms; Online Marketing; Footwear; Legal Aspects Of Business; Street Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Luxury; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Legal Liability; Fashion Industry; Technology Industry

Educators

Hiring in online labor markets involves considerable uncertainty: which hiring choices are more likely to yield successful outcomes and how do employers adjust their hiring behaviors to make such choices? We argue that employers will initially explore the value... View Details

02 May 2013
News

Online Art Seller Eyes Wider Market

February 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Harvard Business School Executive Education: Balancing Online and Offline Marketing

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

How does a small business set its online media budget? The HBS Executive Education Division can be viewed as a small-to-medium sized business unit with annual revenues of $107 million. As we watch it change its culture, practices, and organization from offline to... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Marketing Strategy; Budgets and Budgeting; Technology Adoption; Digital Marketing; Resource Allocation; Information Technology Industry

Educators

July 7, 2022
Other Article

Are Online Prices Higher Because of Pricing Algorithms?

By: Zach Y. Brown and Alexander J. MacKay

This article reviews recent work examining pricing strategies of major online retailers and the potential effects of pricing algorithms. We describe how pricing algorithms can lead to higher prices in a number of ways, even if some characteristics of these algorithms... View Details

Keywords: Pricing Algorithms; Online Marketplace; Digital Strategy; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry

14 Nov 2014
News

High-Frequency Traders Turn to the Online Ad Market

2018
Working Paper

Opportunistic Returns and Dynamic Pricing: Empirical Evidence from Online Retailing in Emerging Markets

By: Chaithanya Bandi, Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe and Zhiji Xu

We investigate how dynamic pricing can lead to more product returns in the online retail industry. Using detailed sales data of more than two million transactions from the Indian online retail market, where price promotions are very common, we document two types of... View Details

Keywords: Cash On Delivery; Dynamic Pricing; Online Retail; Payment Methods; Strategic Customer Behavior; Opportunistic Returns; Price; Policy; Consumer Behavior; Emerging Markets; Retail Industry

SSRN

Article

The Market Design and Policy of Online Review Platforms

By: Benjamin Edelman

I present the institutions and incentives of online reviews, including attracting initial reviews, assuring truthful reviews of genuine experiences, and avoiding inflated or deceptive reviews. I also explore the competition and consumer protection concerns associated... View Details

Keywords: Reviews; Reputation; Platforms; Marketplaces; Deception; Market Design; Multi-Sided Platforms; Law; Online Technology; Information Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Accommodations Industry; Retail Industry

2016
Article

Peer-to-Peer Markets

By: Liran Einav, Chiara Farronato and Jonathan Levin

Peer-to-peer markets such as eBay, Uber, and Airbnb allow small suppliers to compete with traditional providers of goods or services. We view the primary function of these markets as making it easy for buyers to find sellers and engage in convenient, trustworthy... View Details

Keywords: Peer-to-peer; Online Platforms; Matching; Innovation; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Market Design; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit

May–June 2015
Article

Television Advertising and Online Shopping

By: Jura Liaukonyte, Thales Teixeira and Kenneth Wilbur

Media multitasking competes with television advertising for consumers' attention, but it also may facilitate immediate and measurable response to some advertisements. This paper explores whether and how television advertising influences online shopping. We construct a... View Details

Keywords: Content Analysis; Difference-in-differences; Internet; Media Multitasking; Online Purchases; Advertising; Advertising Industry; United States

Forthcoming
Article

Who Benefits from Online Gig Economy Platforms?

By: Christopher Stanton and Catherine Thomas

Online labor platforms for short-term, remote work have many more job seekers than available jobs. Despite their relative abundance, workers capture a substantial share of the surplus from transactions. We draw this conclusion from demand estimates that imply workers'... View Details

Keywords: Gig Economy; Knowledge Workers; Online Platforms; Job Search; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Wages; Demand and Consumers

February 2021
Teaching Note

Digital Marketing at HBS Online Teaching Note

By: Sunil Gupta and Rajiv Lal

Article

Doing Business with Strangers: Reputation in Online Service Marketplaces

By: Antonio Moreno and Christian Terwiesch

Online service marketplaces allow service buyers to post their project requests and service providers to bid for them. To reduce the transactional risks, marketplaces typically track and publish previous seller performance. By analyzing a detailed transactional data... View Details

Keywords: Online Service Marketplace; Procurement; Auctions; Reputation; Bids and Bidding