This paper examines the informational role of the variance of product ratings. We first build a theoretical model on how firm strategies and market outcomes respond to product ratings, and find that a higher variance of ratings increases subsequent demand and profit if, and only if, the average...

We investigate in a competitive setting the consequences of mobile targeting, the practice of firms setting prices based on consumers' real-time locations. A distinct market feature of mobile targeting is that a consumer could travel across different locations for an offer that minimizes his...

Extant literature suggests that consumers derive more happiness from experiences (e.g., vacations) than from material possessions (e.g., furniture). However, this literature typically pits material against experiential consumption, treating them as a single bipolar construct of their relative...