39,827 research outputs found
User Satisfaction in Competitive Sponsored Search
We present a model of competition between web search algorithms, and study
the impact of such competition on user welfare. In our model, search providers
compete for customers by strategically selecting which search results to
display in response to user queries. Customers, in turn, have private
preferences over search results and will tend to use search engines that are
more likely to display pages satisfying their demands.
Our main question is whether competition between search engines increases the
overall welfare of the users (i.e., the likelihood that a user finds a page of
interest). When search engines derive utility only from customers to whom they
show relevant results, we show that they differentiate their results, and every
equilibrium of the resulting game achieves at least half of the welfare that
could be obtained by a social planner. This bound also applies whenever the
likelihood of selecting a given engine is a convex function of the probability
that a user's demand will be satisfied, which includes natural Markovian models
of user behavior.
On the other hand, when search engines derive utility from all customers
(independent of search result relevance) and the customer demand functions are
not convex, there are instances in which the (unique) equilibrium involves no
differentiation between engines and a high degree of randomness in search
results. This can degrade social welfare by a factor of the square root of N
relative to the social optimum, where N is the number of webpages. These bad
equilibria persist even when search engines can extract only small (but
non-zero) expected revenue from dissatisfied users, and much higher revenue
from satisfied ones
Price of Competition and Dueling Games
We study competition in a general framework introduced by Immorlica et al.
and answer their main open question. Immorlica et al. considered classic
optimization problems in terms of competition and introduced a general class of
games called dueling games. They model this competition as a zero-sum game,
where two players are competing for a user's satisfaction. In their main and
most natural game, the ranking duel, a user requests a webpage by submitting a
query and players output an ordering over all possible webpages based on the
submitted query. The user tends to choose the ordering which displays her
requested webpage in a higher rank. The goal of both players is to maximize the
probability that her ordering beats that of her opponent and gets the user's
attention. Immorlica et al. show this game directs both players to provide
suboptimal search results. However, they leave the following as their main open
question: "does competition between algorithms improve or degrade expected
performance?" In this paper, we resolve this question for the ranking duel and
a more general class of dueling games.
More precisely, we study the quality of orderings in a competition between
two players. This game is a zero-sum game, and thus any Nash equilibrium of the
game can be described by minimax strategies. Let the value of the user for an
ordering be a function of the position of her requested item in the
corresponding ordering, and the social welfare for an ordering be the expected
value of the corresponding ordering for the user. We propose the price of
competition which is the ratio of the social welfare for the worst minimax
strategy to the social welfare obtained by a social planner. We use this
criterion for analyzing the quality of orderings in the ranking duel. We prove
the quality of minimax results is surprisingly close to that of the optimum
solution
An empirical assessment of factors affecting the brand-building effectiveness of sponsorship
Purpose: This study assesses, in two different live sponsorship environments, the contribution of sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity.
Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a quantitative survey methodology, employing self-administered questionnaires at two UK sporting events (athletics and cricket). To isolate the impact of sponsorship, questionnaires were also distributed to comparison sample groups not exposed to the sponsorship activities. The elements of consumer-based brand equity are operationalised in line with Aaker‟s (1996) brand equity measurement tool.
Findings: Sponsorship can be an appropriate vehicle through which to build consumer-based brand equity; however brand building success is not guaranteed and is subject to a range of factors impacting upon particular sponsorships, including strength of the sponsor-event link, leverage activities and clutter. The most successful sponsorship displayed marked contributions to building brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. However, the presence of sponsorship clutter in particular was found to impact negatively upon the perception of quality transferred to a brand through sponsorship.
Research limitations/implications: The use of live event settings limits the ability to tightly control all variables; therefore replication of this study using experimental methodologies is recommended. Nonetheless, findings indicate managers should consider the above mentioned contextual factors when selecting sponsorships in order to maximise sponsorship success.
Originality/value: This study explores the contribution of sports sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity in live sponsorship settings, addressing concerns over the generalizability of previous experimental studies. Equally, this study compares the brand equity-building effectiveness of sponsorship for two sponsors, which differ on a range of contextual factors that impact upon sponsorship success
Information Outlook, April 2007
Volume 11, Issue 4https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2007/1003/thumbnail.jp
Outsourcing Back Office Services in Small Nonprofits: Pitfalls and Possibilities
Presents findings on small nonprofits' administrative, finance, and other office support needs; reasons and conditions for outsourcing as well as barriers; methods for evaluating options; and guiding principles. Examines three business models
An empirical assessment of factors affecting the brand-building effectiveness of sponsorship
Purpose: This study assesses, in two different live sponsorship environments, the contribution of sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity.
Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a quantitative survey methodology, employing self-administered questionnaires at two UK sporting events (athletics and cricket). To isolate the impact of sponsorship, questionnaires were also distributed to comparison sample groups not exposed to the sponsorship activities. The elements of consumer-based brand equity are operationalised in line with Aaker‟s (1996) brand equity measurement tool.
Findings: Sponsorship can be an appropriate vehicle through which to build consumer-based brand equity; however brand building success is not guaranteed and is subject to a range of factors impacting upon particular sponsorships, including strength of the sponsor-event link, leverage activities and clutter. The most successful sponsorship displayed marked contributions to building brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. However, the presence of sponsorship clutter in particular was found to impact negatively upon the perception of quality transferred to a brand through sponsorship.
Research limitations/implications: The use of live event settings limits the ability to tightly control all variables; therefore replication of this study using experimental methodologies is recommended. Nonetheless, findings indicate managers should consider the above mentioned contextual factors when selecting sponsorships in order to maximise sponsorship success.
Originality/value: This study explores the contribution of sports sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity in live sponsorship settings, addressing concerns over the generalizability of previous experimental studies. Equally, this study compares the brand equity-building effectiveness of sponsorship for two sponsors, which differ on a range of contextual factors that impact upon sponsorship success
Choosing a Company's Building Design: Models for Strategic Design Decisions
Improving the linkage between real estate strategy and building design can help competitive business strategy. Differentiating building design from product design is important. Problems in making design choices derive from received paradigmatic knowledge that misrepresents the design decision processes. Architectural selection problems are explained with reference to design decision processes and dilemmas of testing the design. Because comparison is the underlying method of evaluation, the design competition is discussed as a model to evaluate the design of a company’s proposed high profile buildings in relation to corporate strategy. The Appendix describes the process and the recent and past history of competitions.
Information Outlook, May 2003
Volume 7, Issue 5https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2003/1004/thumbnail.jp
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