In description
When buying products, consumers often look at information written by other consumers on the internet. In order words, they turn to electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Marketers can take steps to generate, support, and amplify eWOM and so influence consumers’ decision-making process. A trio of researchers have laid out an eWOM roadmap to help marketers and academics understand its inner workings and enhance its effects.
By Kristine De Valck , Ana Babić Rosario
Could scandals actually be good for society? Often brushed aside as simply media hype or gossip, scandals can be potent opportunities for regulatory authorities to challenge individuals or corporations that are otherwise untouchable because of their high status, says new research.
By Yasir Dewan
What is the role of the President of the ECB? Why was her nomination particularly scrutinized? Are there fundamental institutional differences between the central banks of the euro area and the United States, and with what consequences? In this two-part article, Jean-Edouard Colliard shares his analysis. Jean-Edouard Colliard is an associate professor of finance at HEC Paris, where he is also the co-holder of the Chair "Business Analytics for Future Banking" (HEC Paris, Natixis and Ecole Polytechnique). Prior, Prof. Colliard was an economist at the European Central Bank.
Feed-in tariffs (FITs) are crucial tools to increase the adoption of renewable energy technologies. But setting them at the right level (price) is a balancing act. If they are poorly designed, they can backfire, stunting the industry and wasting public money. A duo of HEC researchers, along with a colleague from the University of Texas at Austin, have shown that, to set optimal FIT levels, regulators must take into account the behaviours all players affected, including technology manufacturers.
By Sam Aflaki , Andrea Masini
Investor uncertainty plays a key role in economics, affecting asset prices and investment decisions. Getting a useful measure can be important to financial professionals and also government actors, to establish monetary policy. An HEC Paris researcher and two economists of the US Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors found a new way to gauge uncertainty: using data on internet clicks related to specific news.
By Thierry Foucault
How can herding and social media word-of-mouth increase the demand online? In this interview, Xitong Li, Associate Professor of Information Systems at HEC Paris, unveils his latest research co-authored by Lynn Wu of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, revealing what they have found from Groupon’s combination of both techniques.
Robots are increasingly being used in environments where they must interact closely with humans to perform tasks together. Sangseok You (Assistant Professor at HEC Paris) and colleagues have found surprisingly simple ways to get humans to bond with robots and thus work together more effectively.
By Sangseok You
This research studies people’s tendency to seek or avoid choice closure with past consumer decisions. Consumers achieving choice closure come to see a decision as finished and resolved. Past research has shown that this sense of choice finality can be externally triggered without consumers being aware of it, for example by asking them to close a menu after selecting one of the featured food items. The current research asks the following questions: What is the effect of choice closure on consumers’ satisfaction following decisions with negative or positive outcomes? Do consumers correctly predict the effect of choice closure on their satisfaction? The answer to these questions allows us to offer insights for marketers and sales people on when and how to use choice-closure triggers as means to enhance satisfaction with the outcome of a decision they have made.
By Yangjie Gu
For many people who have started their entrepreneurial adventure, the biggest challenge is to believe in yourself. Yet, for those who choose this path, confidence can also make the entrepreneur underestimate actual business risks, leading to fatal decisions. Researchers of HEC Paris Business School and Bocconi University offer a new explanation for why decision-makers often appear too confident, and shed light on the consequences of this characteristic.
By Thomas Åstebro , Cédric Gutierrez , Tomasz Obloj
In September 2019, the European Central Bank (E.C.B.) shifted its forward guidance on rates from short-term calendar-based type to state contingency. This is a form of guidance that relates directly to the state of inflation rather than a specific date. HEC Associate Professor Gaetano Gaballo, argues that this is a positive first move in removing ambiguous policy signals, although more is needed to spur inflation expectations. Gaballo is currently on leave from a post of senior economist at Banque de France after having served as research economist at the E.C.B..
