Jameson Watts

Using a data set on the U.S. craft beer industry that includes more than one million online customer reviews, the authors investigate how mainstream channel distribution and sales by niche brands affects electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) valence. They argue that eWOM valence is negatively affected by mainstream channel distribution because this marketing decision conflicts with existing brand associations. They also argue that this negative effect can be mitigated, provided that the brand… Show more

Using a data set on the U.S. craft beer industry that includes more than one million online customer reviews, the authors investigate how mainstream channel distribution and sales by niche brands affects electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) valence. They argue that eWOM valence is negatively affected by mainstream channel distribution because this marketing decision conflicts with existing brand associations. They also argue that this negative effect can be mitigated, provided that the brand achieves a substantial increase in sales from the mainstream channel. Findings indicate that such a rebound is indeed possible and that most niche brand managers should consider mainstream channel distribution despite the risks. Most brands mitigate the negative effects of mainstream channel distribution on eWOM valence, and some even manage to improve overall valence. Show less

Imagine a beer advertisement next to an article about drunk driving, or a coupon for a free dinner embedded in an article about food poisoning. While humans are quite good at seeing the error in these examples, the machine-learning algorithms that place advertisements online continue to struggle with this type of contextual nuance. We argue that this shortcoming stems from the manner in which these machines are taught about semantic relatedness—the conceptual distance between words in the human… Show more

Imagine a beer advertisement next to an article about drunk driving, or a coupon for a free dinner embedded in an article about food poisoning. While humans are quite good at seeing the error in these examples, the machine-learning algorithms that place advertisements online continue to struggle with this type of contextual nuance. We argue that this shortcoming stems from the manner in which these machines are taught about semantic relatedness—the conceptual distance between words in the human mind. Specifically, we hypothesize that there is a difference in how humans view semantic relatedness when context is present versus when it is absent and that this difference is missing from the data used by machines to place advertisements online. To test this hypothesis, we adapt existing best practices to create a new, context-aware database and then compare it to the current state of the art. We find substantial differences in the distribution of semantic relatedness scores for context-aware versus context-free databases. We also find that the nature and scope of these differences are likely to lead to the types of mistakes observed in practice. Show less

We investigate the influence of board of director networks (network prominence) on the career outcomes of directors of Chinese public firms from 2005 to 2014. We find that higher network prominence leads to increased compensation for independent and executive directors. Network prominence increases turnover for independent directors, which facilitates access to better ex- ternal opportunities, whereas network prominence reduces turnover for directors with positions in controlling firms, which… Show more

We investigate the influence of board of director networks (network prominence) on the career outcomes of directors of Chinese public firms from 2005 to 2014. We find that higher network prominence leads to increased compensation for independent and executive directors. Network prominence increases turnover for independent directors, which facilitates access to better ex- ternal opportunities, whereas network prominence reduces turnover for directors with positions in controlling firms, which protects these related directors from dismissal. Network prominence also leads to additional future directorships, but for non-independent non-executive directors, this effect only holds for related directors who hold positions in controlling firms. These findings are consistent with related directors acting in the interest of the controlling firm. Overall, higher network prominence both directly leads to higher compensation and indirectly leads to higher compensation through the channels of labor mobility and additional board seats. Show less

An information-theoretic measure of language consistency is constructed from the text of 13 years of trade journal articles on the biotechnology industry. This measure is then related to the trading volume of a representative portfolio of biotechnology stocks. Findings indicate that language consistency and trading volume have a joint (positive) influence on each other over the long term; however, sharp drops in consistency are also predictive of transient spikes in trading volume. The… Show more

An information-theoretic measure of language consistency is constructed from the text of 13 years of trade journal articles on the biotechnology industry. This measure is then related to the trading volume of a representative portfolio of biotechnology stocks. Findings indicate that language consistency and trading volume have a joint (positive) influence on each other over the long term; however, sharp drops in consistency are also predictive of transient spikes in trading volume. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to modern theories of legitimation and the economics of surprise. Show less

The authors investigate how a firm’s position in a network of marketing alliances affects performance for firms experiencing different levels of uncertainty. A more prominent position—having many, well-connected marketing alliances—is typically theorized to improve the performance of a firm. However, we find that a prominent network position can instead hurt performance when uncertainty is high. Practically, these results can help both researchers and practitioners identify when the risks of… Show more

The authors investigate how a firm’s position in a network of marketing alliances affects performance for firms experiencing different levels of uncertainty. A more prominent position—having many, well-connected marketing alliances—is typically theorized to improve the performance of a firm. However, we find that a prominent network position can instead hurt performance when uncertainty is high. Practically, these results can help both researchers and practitioners identify when the risks of marketing alliances outweigh the rewards. Theoretically, they provide a plausible explanation for past research that failed to detect a positive relationship between marketing alliances and firm performance. Show less

Marketing executives operate in increasingly complex marketplaces characterized by global competition, accelerating sustainability concerns, and an increased focus on innovation. This complexity risks a fragmentation of thought more severe than that which Theodore Levitt discussed in his seminal article on marketing myopia. Indeed, we’ve become market myopic as a discipline and lost focus on the generalities that apply to markets and exchange more broadly. Our goal is to provide a description… Show more

Marketing executives operate in increasingly complex marketplaces characterized by global competition, accelerating sustainability concerns, and an increased focus on innovation. This complexity risks a fragmentation of thought more severe than that which Theodore Levitt discussed in his seminal article on marketing myopia. Indeed, we’ve become market myopic as a discipline and lost focus on the generalities that apply to markets and exchange more broadly. Our goal is to provide a description of the modern marketplace that allows us to re-envision this complexity as a symptom of a more general phenomenon. We do this by arguing that market complexity can (and should) be understood as a consequence of the circular relationship between exchange and shared understanding. We then show how this relationship can be expressed in simple terms using vectors to symbolize the degree to which this understanding is shared across actors and the rate at which this “shared-ness” is changing in time. The resulting model allows us to cast the variety and variability of the complex modern marketplace as a symptom of shared understanding dynamics. This, in turn, helps us move beyond the morass of contextual idiosyncrasy and toward a more parsimonious description of the market. Show less

As marketers, we are confronted by an increasingly complex world—one characterized by markets that emerge and evolve at an unprecedented rate. This has led to an increased need for methods that can help researchers translate this complexity and dynamism into actionable intelligence. In the current work, I introduce one such method, and show how it can be applied to the emergence and evolution of the biotechnology industry during the 1990s and early 2000s. I conclude with a discussion of how… Show more

As marketers, we are confronted by an increasingly complex world—one characterized by markets that emerge and evolve at an unprecedented rate. This has led to an increased need for methods that can help researchers translate this complexity and dynamism into actionable intelligence. In the current work, I introduce one such method, and show how it can be applied to the emergence and evolution of the biotechnology industry during the 1990s and early 2000s. I conclude with a discussion of how this method can be applied more broadly to areas like content marketing, trend spotting, and the interface between qualitative and quantitative market research. Show less

One of the defining features of online social networks is that users' actions are visible to other users. In this paper, we argue that such visibility can have a detrimental effect on users' willingness to exchange digital gifts. Gift giving is an intimate activity that comes with social risk, and the public nature of online environments can deter interactions that usually occur in smaller, more intimate settings. To study the effects of online visibility on the decision to give, we analyze a… Show more

One of the defining features of online social networks is that users' actions are visible to other users. In this paper, we argue that such visibility can have a detrimental effect on users' willingness to exchange digital gifts. Gift giving is an intimate activity that comes with social risk, and the public nature of online environments can deter interactions that usually occur in smaller, more intimate settings. To study the effects of online visibility on the decision to give, we analyze a unique dataset from a large online social network that offers users the option of buying a digital gifting service. We find that purchase rates of the service increased with the number of ties that users kept on the network, but decreased with the extent to which those ties were connected to each other. We argue that the latter effect is due to the fact that, when a user's ties are connected, any gift sent between the user and one tie is visible to their mutual contacts. We explore how characteristics of users' networks moderate the effect of online visibility, and argue that firms should take consumer network structure into account when designing digital products and promoting engagement online. Show less

Online social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook regularly use People You May Know (PYMK) algorithms to encourage connectivity among their users. We argue that these algorithms have the unintended effect of making users’ interactions more visible, which can deter users from being intimate online. To test this theory, we analyze the database of a large online social network that lets users buy and exchange electronic greeting cards (eCards) with each other over the network. We find that users… Show more

Online social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook regularly use People You May Know (PYMK) algorithms to encourage connectivity among their users. We argue that these algorithms have the unintended effect of making users’ interactions more visible, which can deter users from being intimate online. To test this theory, we analyze the database of a large online social network that lets users buy and exchange electronic greeting cards (eCards) with each other over the network. We find that users are more likely to buy eCards when they have more connections, but less likely to buy them if they have formed connections to friends of friends. We attribute the latter effect to the increased social visibility that comes with connecting to friends of friends, which PYMK algorithms encourage. Our study has implications for how privacy and intimacy interact online, and calls for a deeper investigation into the unintended consequences of algorithms. Show less

One of the defining features of online social networks is that users’ actions are visible to other users. In this paper, we argue that such social visibility has a detrimental effect on users’ willingness to gift digital goods. The gift giving process often generates substantial anxiety, and social visibility exacerbates this anxiety to the point that it can deter gifting altogether. To study the effect of social visibility on the
decision to gift, we analyze a unique dataset from a large… Show more

One of the defining features of online social networks is that users’ actions are visible to other users. In this paper, we argue that such social visibility has a detrimental effect on users’ willingness to gift digital goods. The gift giving process often generates substantial anxiety, and social visibility exacerbates this anxiety to the point that it can deter gifting altogether. To study the effect of social visibility on the
decision to gift, we analyze a unique dataset from a large online social network that offers users the option of buying a digital gifting service. We find that purchase rates of the service increased with the number of social ties that users kept on the network, but decreased with the extent to which those ties were tied to each other. We argue that the latter effect is due to the fact that, when a user’s ties are tied
themselves, any gift sent between the user and one tie is visible to their mutual contacts. This argument is bolstered by a stronger negative effect of social visibility for users with larger, less intimate, and categorically diverse networks. Show less

A preference for diversity has been identified as an important predictor of tie formation in certain networks, both social and organizational, that also exhibit a high degree of suppleness–the ability to retain their general form and character under stress. Extant models of preferential attachment, based on popularity, similarity, and cohesion, meanwhile, produce exceedingly brittle networks. A model of preferential attachment based on diversity is introduced and simulated, demonstrating that a… Show more

A preference for diversity has been identified as an important predictor of tie formation in certain networks, both social and organizational, that also exhibit a high degree of suppleness–the ability to retain their general form and character under stress. Extant models of preferential attachment, based on popularity, similarity, and cohesion, meanwhile, produce exceedingly brittle networks. A model of preferential attachment based on diversity is introduced and simulated, demonstrating that a preference for diversity can create a structure characterized by suppleness. This occurs because a preference for diversity promotes overlapping and redundant weak ties during the early stages of network formation. Show less