Impression Effect vs. Click-through Effect: Mechanism Design of Online Advertising

Search advertising and display advertising are two major online advertising formats. Search advertising emphasizes ads’ click-through effect. Advertisers only pay when users click the link of their ads. Traditional display advertising emphasizes ads’ impression effect. Most display ads are charged based on the number of views on the ads. Considering that most online ads increase brand awareness (impression effect) and directly promote sales (click-through effect), the not-emphasized effect in search advertising or display advertising actually has a significant impact on the market outcome. However, these impacts have been largely ignored. In this paper, we examine various mechanisms in search and display advertising by considering both ads’ impression effect and click-through effect. Interestingly, we show a seesaw relationship between ads’ two effects in search advertising. The advertiser whose advertisement has a strong click-through effect benefits relatively less from its impression effect. In display advertising, the real-time-bidding (RTB) mechanism considers both ads’ impression effect and click-through effect. It allows a publisher to gain more surplus than that through a static auction. However, we show that RTB is associated with a high risk of market failure

Economic Analysis of the Supplier-Reseller Symbiotic Competition in an Online Distribution Business

The Internet brings suppliers unprecedented opportunity of selling directly to consumers, a trend predicted as disintermediation (Malone et al. 1987). However, the coexistence of online reseller channels and direct channels leads to a subtle relationship between suppliers and online resellers, that is, the two parties cooperate as well as compete with each other. In this paper, we build a game-theoretical model to examine the relationship of symbiotic competition between a supplier and a reseller, in which while the supplier relies upon the reseller in distribution, she also competes with the reseller. We further compare possible mechanisms for the supplier to control the symbiotic competition (i.e., the low-price guarantee and the capacity control mechanism). Both mechanisms are shown to reduce the channel conflicts and benefit the supplier. The capacity control mechanism provides the supplier a competitive advantage over the reseller and consequently the maximum profit. The related IT/IS techniques and information systems adoption issue are also discussed

Management Response to Online Customer Reviews in Distribution Channel: A Perspective of Manufacturers

In a distribution channel where multiple manufacturers and retailers compete intensively, manufacturers’ investment decisions on directly communicating with end consumers are strategic. In this study, we examined the interactive relationship between the manufacturers’ management response strategies to online customer reviews and the channel structure formed in the online market. We collected data from Amazon.com, where the manufacturers, instead of the retailers, decide whether and how to respond to the customer reviews. The study illustrates the interaction of channel structure and manufacturers’ management response strategies to the reviews. On the one hand, if a manufacturer invests in responding to customer reviews, more retailers are willing to carry its product. On the other hand, if more retailers sell a manufacturer’s product, or if there are more intensive intra-competition in the retailer channels, the manufacturer is more likely to invest in management response

The Variance Character of Heavy Metal\u27s Content in Yellow River Estuary Water

In the high water and low water period, water sample of the Yellow River delta were gathered to determine the concentration of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, As, Hg. The average concentration of heavy metals in the high water period was higher than that in the low water period, and the content of heavy metals in bottom was higher than that in surface layer. From river to sea, the variance of heavy metals content is obvious. At low water period, the heavy metals content decreased from river to sea, but at the site that was at 12.5km apart from A03, there was a obvious low value area, and then increased, the main reason was resuspension of sediment; In high water 6period, at the site that was at 11.5 to 15km apart A03, the content of heavy metals decreased obviously, and then appeared a peak value, the site of peak value in high water period was at about 1.3km apart from that in low water period. The factor analysis showed that the resuspension of mud and sand and salinity conduced from the river runoff and the mixture of fresh and salt water was the main reasons of the variance of heavy metals content in Huanghe estuary water