Building on the search-based view of innovation, we develop a framework regarding how Google guides innovative search behavior. We exploit an exogenous shock, China's unexpected blockade of Google in 2014, and adopt a difference-in-differences approach with a matched sample of patents from China and nearby regions to test our predictions. Our analyses show ... Read More

Economists and the broader investment community rely on government data to learn about key market indicators like oil inventories, agricultural production, and export volumes. But access to new technology is changing that. Commercial satellites are loosening the authorities’ hold over such information and making it possible for investors to anticipate ... Read More

Managing new products is important for many firms. One challenging problem is how to predict the success of a new product, especially in their early life cycle. Using large-scale retailer data, we find the novel prediction that the early success of a new product among certain customers may have negative—rather than positive—implications for the long-term ... Read More

We use a randomized field experiment to estimate a causal effect of part-time recruitment on labor productivity by identifying worker selection as a mechanism and using worker-level productivity data. In recruiting for data entry work in Ethiopia, we identify 6,236 eligible women and randomly assign them to part-time or full-time job opportunities. We find ... Read More

Would the affected communities voluntarily obtain herd immunity if a cure for COVID-19 becomes available? The conventional wisdom says “no” because of the fact that an individual's decisions does not take into account its positive externality to others, i.e., if you get a vaccine, you are improving the chance that other will get sick. That is why people ... Read More

With the increasing demands for innovation and adaption, organizations need employees not in formal leadership roles to take initiatives and exhibit informal leadership among their peers. Prior research has focused on “who” may behave as informal leaders but largely overlooked “when” individuals practice informal leadership. Very little is known about what ... Read More