Many advertisements inform the consumer about product characteristics, while others give price information with very little product information, and some provide both types of information. We propose a framework to analyze the incentives for firms to provide various types of information. We consider the case of a single seller. There is no incentive to provide information on product characteris...

Health-care consumers are beginning to realize the presence and value of health-care information available on the Internet, but they need to be aware of risks that may be involved. In addition to delivering information, some Web sites collect information. Though not all of the information might be classified as protected health information, consumers need to realize what is collected and how it...

We all need ways to assess the quality of the information we look for, but this task is critically important when we are seeking health information. Healthcare consumers increasingly seek and use health information to address their health concerns. However, many health consumers lack the time and expertise required to make solid judgments about the quality of health information they encounter. ...

Firms today use information about customers to improve service and design personalized offerings. To do this successfully, however, firms must collect consumer information. This study enhances awareness about a central paradox for firms investing in personalization; namely, that consumers who value information transparency are also less likely to participate in personalization. We examine the r...

We develop a structural model for estimating the welfare effects of policies that alter the design of differentiated product markets when some consumers may be misinformed about product characteristics. We use the model to analyze three proposals to simplify Medicare markets for prescription drug insurance: (1) reducing the number of plans, (2) providing personalized information, and (3) changi...

When consumers try to assess the performance of a product on a key benefit, their information search often reveals both diagnostic information and irrelevant information. Although one would expect irrelevant information to have little impact on predictions of product performance, we present evidence that the irrelevant information systematically weakens consumers’ beliefs that the product will ...

The positive effects of social popularity (i.e., information based on other consumers’ behaviors) and deal scarcity (i.e., information provided by product vendors) on consumers’ consumption behaviors are well recognized. However, few studies have investigated their potential joint and interaction effects and how such effects may differ at different timing of a shopping process. This study exami...