Foraging Online: Understanding How Search Features Influence the Development of Information Search Tactics and Strategies

Online information search behaviour are increasingly pervasive and important in the current era of big data. The design of search features that accommodate to information search behaviour relies on an extensive understanding of how searchers develop search tactics and search strategies. Through the lens of foraging theory, I argue the each type of search features enables a specific search tactic, that is, how searchers advance their search with their minds and actions in accord to the inherent constraints posed by a certain search feature. Furthermore, I hypothesize that the search tactics adopted by a searcher influence his/her search strategy, meaning the planning of the whole search process, and ultimately determines the search outcome. To empirically validate the hypothesis posited in this proposal, I developed an experimental restaurant review website with four contemporary search features implemented. Real information of 1079 restaurants in San Franciscon along with about 268k reviews for these restaurants written by nearly 91k dinners are scraped to populate this website. Future experiment is planned to collect participants’ objective search behavioural data as well as their quantitative and qualitative feedback regarding the search process in order to triangulate my hypotheses

Differential Effects of Keyword Selection in Search Engine Advertising on Direct and Indirect Sales

Product sales via sponsored keyword advertising on search engines rely on an effective selection of keywords that describe the offerings. In this study, we consider both the direct sales of the advertised products and indirect sales (i.e., cross-selling) of other products, and examine how specific keywords and general keywords influence these two types of sales differently. We also examine how the cross-selling effects may vary across different types of products (main products and accessories). Our results suggest that the use of specific keywords leans toward improving the direct sales of advertised products, while the use of general keywords leans toward improving the indirect sales of other products. The contribution of keywords to indirect sales is influenced by product type. For main products, the use of specific keywords generates a higher marginal contribution to indirect sales than that of general keywords. For accessory products, the use of general keywords generates a higher marginal contribution to indirect sales than that of specific keywords. The key implication of this study is that sellers focusing on different types of sales (direct or indirect sales) or products (main or accessory products) should consider using different types of keywords in search engine advertising to drive sales

Keyword portfolio optimization in paid search advertising

This paper uses investment portfolio theory to determine budget allocation in paid online search advertising. The approach focuses on risk-adjusted performance and favors diversified portfolios of unrelated or negatively correlated keywords. An empirical investigation employs averages, variances and co-variances for keyword popularities, which are estimated using growth rates for 15 major sectors taken from the Google Trends database. In line with portfolio theory, the results show that the average keyword popularity growth is strongly related to the standard deviation of growth for each keyword in the sample (R2 = 74%). Hypothesis testing of differences in Sharpe ratios documents a significantly better performance of the proposed approach compared to that of other strategies currently used by practitioners

Electronic Word-of-Mouth and the Crowdfunding Environment: A Store Environment Approach to Crowdfunding Success

Crowdfunding has transformed the new venture financing process by expanding the possibilities for not only who can receive funding but also who can become a funder in new venture projects. Rewards-based crowdfunding platforms such as Indiegogo.com offer individuals a “reward” in return for their contribution. The rewards-based crowdfunding environment is imbued with aspects of both new venture funding and internet-based consumer purchasing. A funder may hope to obtain a valued commodity in return for their contribution to a crowdfunding project. Yet, the uncertainty associated with the outcomes requires the funder to infer quality by considering the viability of the project plan and the abilities of the project team. Building upon the complementary perspectives of a rewards-based crowdfunding contribution as both an investment and a purchase, I use the store environment model from the consumer behavior literature as a lens for identifying the informational cues project teams use to convey the worth of their project to funders. Since crowdfunding relies on the interaction of the community, I draw from research on electronic word-of-mouth (eWoM) and social media to understand how social media “buzz” can act as a social cue within the crowdfunding environment, transforming the nature of the message conveyed by the project team. My findings indicate that crowdfunding environment does impact the total amount received for a project, alone and in tandem. More importantly, the type of cue matters; design cues (vividness and structuredness) work best when combined with other design cues and social cues (project team cues and social media “buzz”) work best with other social cues. First, vividness matters –particularly when combined with a well-structured text. Next, neither project team attributes not community discourse matter in isolation, but in combination they do. Finally, too much social media “buzz” has a negative effect on funding, particularly later in the campaign. My research presents the store environment model as a valuable lens for understanding crowdfunding outcomes. By illuminating the complementarities between the new venture financing and internet-based consumer purchasing perspectives of crowdfunding, I utilize a more comprehensive application of the store environment model than has been employed in online contexts previously and present social media eWoM (i.e. social media “buzz”) as a social cue having a significant impact in online store environments and the rewards-based crowdfunding environment in particular. I also highlight the importance of eWoM, in the form of social media “buzz,” as an indirect force on organizational outcomes, acting in tandem with other environment cues and differentially over time

Keyword Segmentation, Campaign Organization, and Budget Allocation in Sponsored Search Advertising

Sponsored search advertising, where search providers allow advertisers to participate in a real-time auction and compete for ad slots on search engine results pages (SERPs), is currently one of the most popular advertising channels by marketers. Some domains such as Amazon.com allocate in millions of dollars a month to their sponsored search campaigns. Considering the amount of money allocated to sponsored search as well as the dynamic nature of keyword advertising process, the campaign budget planning decision is a non-trivial task for advertisers. Budget constrained advertisers must consider a number of factors when deciding how to organize campaigns, how much budget to allocate to them, and which keywords to bid on. Specifically, they must decide how to spend budget across planning horizons, markets, campaigns, and ad groups. In this thesis, I develop a simulation model that integrates the issues of keyword segmentation, campaign organization, and budget allocation in order to characterize different budget allocation strategies and understand their implications on search advertising performance. Using the buying funnel model as the basis of keyword segmentation and campaign organization, I examine several budget allocation strategies (i.e., search Volume-based, Cost-based, and Clicks-based) and evaluate their performance implications for firms that may pursue different marketing objectives based on industry and or product/service offerings. I evaluate the simulation model using four fortune 500 companies as cases and their keyword advertising data obtained from Spyfu.com. The results and statistical analysis shows significant improvements in budget utilization using the above-mentioned allocation strategies over a Baseline strategy commonly used in practice. The study offers a unique insight into the budget allocation problem in sponsored search advertising by leveraging a theoretical framework for keyword segmentation, campaign management, and performance evaluation. It also provides insights for advertiser on operational issues such as keyword categorization and campaign organization and prioritization for improved performance. The proposed simulation model also contributes a valid experimental environment to test further decision scenarios, theoretical frameworks, and campaign allocation strategies in sponsored search advertising

Crafting consumption through community: an exploration of the Etsy experience

In a global market dominated by the mass production and consumption of branded goods, an interest in craft products has become a growing trend among consumers Walker, 2007). Consumer demand for craft products includes a wide array of items, from those that are perishable, such as micro brews, to those that are nonperishable, such as jewelry (Clay, 2013). There are many reasons why consumers are embracing craft products, as they are often unique, one-of-a-kind, of higher quality, and provide a connection to the creator. Ultimately, craft goods provide a unique consumption experience within a marketplace dominated by carbon-copied products and consumption experiences (Walker, 2007). While some retailers are trying to integrate the craft trend into their merchandise assortments, others have sought to build a business around craft products. Etsy is one such company that, through the craft community, has built a successful online business. Etsy, in turn, has helped promote the popularity of craft products. The convergence of craft products with community has turned Etsy into an innovative kind of online market. Since its introduction, Etsy has experienced tremendous growth. For instance, from 2005 to 2012 Etsy expanded into close to 200 international markets, attracted over 800,000 sellers, and sold roughly $80 million in products (Mitroff, 2013). Etsy owes its quick success to the avid community of craft Sellers and Buyers. Yet despite the uniqueness of Etsy’s growth and unique approach to retailing craft goods, no academic research exists on the topic. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to understand how Etsy functions as both a community and an online, craft-oriented market. Three objectives guided this dissertation: (1) to explore what it means to be a member of the Etsy community, (2) to investigate the extent to which this community shapes Etsy’s practices and functions as a market, and (3) to examine the implications of Etsy as a community-driven market for online retailing. The purpose and objectives were framed by a sociological perspective and understood within the context of consumer behavior research. Three overarching concepts —culture, community, and market— were used to weave together a conceptual framework for the study. Ethnography and netnography serve as the interpretive approaches to explore Etsy’s community and market. Three methods of data collection were employed, including participant observation, in-depth interviews, and visual documentation. Participant observation and pure observation occurred over a three-month time period resulting in a total of 312 hours of observation. Nine Buyers, eight Sellers and three Etsy Administrators were interviewed. Last, visual documentation was used to capture online and offline observations. Spiggle’s (1994) suggestions of qualitative data analysis were employed to identify patterns in the data, which resulted in the development of three thematic areas: (1) Uncovering Etsy’s Culture, (2) Etsy as a Community, and (3) Etsy as a Market. The thematic interpretation revealed that Etsy’s platform relies on an interdependent community/market relationship, as such, the community influences the market and the market influences the community. In turn, it was found that members’ roles, (e.g., Buyers, Sellers, and Etsy Administrators), were integral to fostering this relationship and ultimately shaping Etsy’s platform. Findings of this dissertation reveal the ways that Etsy has taken a unique approach to online retailing, as it diverges from the traditional online retailing model by seamlessly integrating community into its market. In so doing, this dissertation reveals how Etsy brings a new format to online retailing, the community-based electronic market. This particular retail format is unique in that it is dependent on market consumption communities to not only purchase goods and services, but to provide the merchandise to be sold within the market. Another distinct characteristic of Etsy is the market prosumer, a member that buys, sells, and works for Etsy. This market player is unique to the community-based electronic market, and like the concept of the community-based electronic market, it is new to the literature. Although future research on the topic is needed, findings from this dissertation point to the beginning of a new era in online retailing, as well as new avenues for consumer behavior research

Network failure: digital technology in sponsored search advertising

The current study advances understanding of sponsored search advertising (SSA) by exploring failures in networks of SSA tools and human actors. SSA represents a novel form of information technology-bound marketing practice that has rapidly proliferated marketing over the last 25 years. The confluence of search technology and advertising has redefined how contemporary marketing is practiced, causing significant redistribution in marketing spent, advertising activity and the emergence of new actors. These shifts have attracted significant interest with rapidly growing number of studies addressing matters around SSA strategy, including various SSA features and functions. In radical departure from mainstream SSA literature, the current study adopts a practice-based view to provide a more nuanced understanding of how the networks of human and technological actors emerge, are stabilised and fail in SSA. By casting SSA as networked practice, the study highlights social construction and the dynamic, multiple and fluid nature of SSA. Actor network theory (ANT) theoretically frames failure in SSA and the networked nature of human and nonhuman actors that contribute to it. The study adopts a qualitative research design, where the data was collected through a 7-month ethnography and the data set includes semi-structured and insitu interviews, day-to day (participant) observations, images, field notes, secondary data and a detailed research diary. The data is anchored on events made up of relations – the principal units of analysis. The findings are presented as a set of ethnographic stories from problematised events. They show how SSA dynamism, fluidity and multiplicity can only be acknowledged accurately enough if human and nonhuman actors in networks are followed in their attempts to build heterogeneous relations. This enables enactment of several new actors, intentions and roles from the Google advertising practice in a specialised SSA agency. The findings provide novel insights that address several gaps in the marketing literature