Firms introducing network technologies (whose benefits depend on who installs the technology) need to understand which user characteristics confer the greatest network benefits on other potential adopters. To examine which adopter characteristics matter, I use the introduction of a...

This paper investigates how the destabilizing of a social network may increase the scope of network externalities, using data on sales of a video-calling system made to an investment bank's employees and subsequent usage by these customers. The terrorist attacks of 2001 led potential customers...

This paper analyzes the role of heterogeneity and forward-lookingexpectations in the diffusion of network technologies. Using a detaileddataset on the adoption of a new videoconferencing technology within afirm, we estimate a structural model of technology adoption andcommunications choice. We...

Each search term put into a search engine produces a separate set ofresults. Correspondingly, each of the sets of ads displayed alongsidethe results is priced using a separate auction. We investigate how bidsfor these context-based ads depends on the difficulty of making a match.This contrasts...

This paper asks how much the strength of network effects depends on thestability and structure of the underlying social network. I answer thisusing extensive microdata on all potential adopters of a firm's internalvideo-messaging system and their subsequent video-messaging. This firm'sNew York...

This paper highlights how the provision of information about userparticipation can serve as a strategic marketing tool for firms seekingto grow two-sided exchange networks. A two-sided exchange network is abusiness model (such as Ebay or Craiglist) where revenue is generatedfrom persuading...

This paper investigates how internet users' perception of control overtheir personal information affects how likely they are to click ononline advertising. The paper uses data from a randomized fieldexperiment that examined the relative effectiveness of personalizing adcopy to mesh with existing...

Online applications and services automate communications and transactions between firms and consumers, promising large efficiency gains. However, consumers have been slow to use these online technologies intensively, despite widespread adoption of the internet. Customers frequently undergo a...

This paper analyzes the role of heterogeneity and forward-looking expectations in the diffusion of network technologies. Using a detailed dataset on the adoption of a new videoconferencing technology within a firm, we estimate a structural model of technology adoption and communications choice....

Many video ads are designed to go viral, so that the total number of views they receive depends on customers sharing the ads with their friends. This paper explores the relationship between achieving this endogenous reach and the effectiveness of the ad at persuading a consumer to purchase or...