ICES: Small: Collaborative Research: Selling to Networked Markets

ICES：小型：协作研究：向网络市场销售

• 批准号: 1216004
• 负责人: Ilan Lobel
• 金额: $ 5.91万
• 依托单位: New York University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2013-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1216004&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ICES; Small; Collaborative; Research; Selling

Modern marketplaces, enabled by recent advances in informationtechnology, are becoming ever more complex, dynamic andinterconnected. Customers are increasingly more informed about thechoices available to them and are thus able to make better decisions.For firms, this presents both opportunities and challenges. On thepositive side, the firm has a bigger than ever array of tools at itsdisposal that enable it to better sell to its customers. Such toolsare both computational (pricing algorithms, customer targeting data,social networking information) and economical (dynamic mechanisms) innature. The challenging aspect for the firm is that modern technologyalso allows consumers to easily learn the opinions of fellow customersand to be strategic in their decision-making. Having such strategicand networked customers is not necessarily a net negative for thefirm, but it certainly makes the firm's problem of how to sell itsproducts a more complex one.This project aims to develop a framework for understanding how tosell goods in markets that are fundamentally dynamic andinterconnected. The project will research what mechanisms are revenue-optimal(or near-optimal, while being simple and computationally tractable) indynamic settings where customers can learn from each other. The PIs willstudy the effect of network learning on the firm's behavior andwhether it forces the firm to share some of the costs associated withconsumer learning. The project will also focus on how the socialnetworkstructure affects the optimal mechanism and will try tounderstand whether such network learning effects lead to lower (orhigher) revenue for the firm and aggregate consumer welfare.Fundamental research in the dynamics of networked markets providesdeeper knowledge to a broad audience that includes firms, consumergroups and regulators. Curriculum development at the interface ofoperations research, information systems and computer science willbenefit from this research experience.

现代市场在信息技术最新进展的推动下，正变得越来越复杂、动态和相互关联。消费者越来越多地了解他们所能获得的选择，从而能够做出更好的决策。对企业来说，这既是机遇也是挑战。从积极的一面来看，该公司拥有比以往任何时候都多的工具，使其能够更好地向客户销售。此类工具本质上既是计算性的（定价算法、客户定位数据、社交网络信息），又是经济性的（动态机制）。该公司面临的挑战是，现代技术还使消费者能够轻松了解其他客户的意见，并在决策中具有战略性。拥有这样的战略性和网络化的客户对公司来说并不一定是一个净负面影响，但它确实使公司如何销售其产品的问题变得更加复杂。本项目旨在开发一个框架，以理解如何在基本上动态和相互关联的市场中销售商品。该项目将研究在客户可以相互学习的动态环境中，什么机制是收入最优的（或接近最优的，同时简单且易于计算）。PI将研究网络学习对公司行为的影响，以及它是否迫使公司分担与消费者学习相关的一些成本。 该项目还将关注社会网络结构如何影响最优机制，并将试图了解这种网络学习效应是否会导致公司收入的降低（或提高）以及消费者总体福利。对网络市场动态的基础研究为包括公司、消费者团体和监管机构在内的广泛受众提供了更深入的知识。 在运筹学，信息系统和计算机科学的接口课程开发将受益于这一研究经验。