This paper studies two types of threshold-induced effects: a surge of new sign-ups around the time when the thresholds of group-buying deals are reached, and a stronger positive relation between the number of new sign-ups and the cumulative number of sign-ups before the thresholds are reached...

Problem definition: The undesirable but inevitable consequence of running promotions is that consumers can be trained to time their purchases strategically. In this paper, we study randomized promotions, where the firm randomly offers discounts over time, as an alternative strategy of...

The undesirable but inevitable consequence of running promotions is that consumers can be trained to time their purchases strategically. In this paper, we study randomized promotions, where the firm randomly offers discounts over time, as an alternative strategy of intertemporal price...

Sweepstakes and contests are an extremely common promotional strategy used by firms. The sweepstakes and contests often differ significantly in the design of reward structure. For example, in 1999, Godiva Chocolates conducted a sweepstakes where one box of chocolates contained a diamond...

This paper investigates the impact of various motivational tactics - tangible or intangible and selfish or altruistic - on online referral rates, utilizing a unique dataset matching a large-scale survey with an online field experiment. The authors develop an economic model of referral and derive...