@article{THESIS,
      recid = {1646},
      author = {Ursu, Raluca},
      title = {The Power of Rankings: Quantifying the Effect of Rankings  on Online Consumer Search and Purchase Decisions},
      publisher = {University of Chicago},
      school = {Ph.D.},
      address = {2016-06},
      number = {THESIS},
      pages = {71},
      abstract = {Online search intermediaries, such as Amazon or Expedia,  use rankings (ordered lists) to present third party  sellers’ products to consumers. These rankings decrease  consumer search costs and increase the probability of a  match with a seller, ultimately increasing consumer  welfare. Constructing relevant rankings requires  understanding their causal effect on consumer choices.  However, this is challenging since rankings are endogenous:  highly ranked products are also the most relevant ones for  consumers. In this dissertation, I use the first data set  with experimental variation in the ranking from a field  experiment at Expedia to identify the causal effect of  rankings. Using this data set, I make three contributions.  First, I show that rankings affect what consumers search,  but conditional on search, do not affect purchases. I also  exploit a feature of the data set (opaque offers), to show  that rankings lower search costs, instead of affecting  consumer expectations or utility. Second, I quantify the  effect of rankings using a sequential search model and find  an average position effect of $2.64, lower than previous  estimates in the literature obtained without experimental  varia- tion. Finally, I show that a utility-based ranking  built on this model’s estimates leads to an almost twofold  increase in consumer welfare, while also increasing  transactions and revenue for the search intermediary.},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/1646},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.6082/uchicago.1646},
}