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Field
Abstract
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Before
This study evaluates whether and how access to competitors’ demand information affects firms’ business performance. In collaboration with a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that serves the hotel industry in China, we will conduct a six-week field experiment involving approximately 270 hotels.
Participating hotels will be randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group, with about 90 hotels in the treatment group and 180 in the control group. Hotels in the treatment group will receive information about their key competitors and twice-daily updates on the sold inventory across a set of designated competitors for the following day. In contrast, control group hotels will be informed only of the identities of their competitors and will not receive any demand data.
The study addresses two key questions:
1. Does access to competitor demand information improve firms’ business outcomes?
2. If so, through what mechanisms do these effects occur?
Theoretically, the impact is ambiguous. On one hand, competitor demand data may help firms better align their business strategies with prevailing market conditions. On the other hand, it may trigger overreactions or herd behavior—disrupting internal pricing logic, distorting sales pacing, or crowding out firm-specific judgment.
The experiment is designed to isolate the causal impact of competitor demand information and to assess how firms respond to it. The findings will contribute to a broader understanding of strategic information use and offer practical guidance on how firms can leverage competitor demand data in competitive markets.
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After
This study evaluates whether and how access to competitors’ demand information affects firms’ business performance. In collaboration with a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that serves the hotel industry in China, we will conduct a six-week field experiment involving approximately 240 hotels.
Participating hotels will be randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group, with about 80 hotels in the treatment group and 160 in the control group. Hotels in the treatment group will receive information about their key competitors and twice-daily updates on the sold inventory across a set of designated competitors for the following day. In contrast, control group hotels will be informed only of the identities of their competitors and will not receive any demand data.
The study addresses two key questions:
1. Does access to competitor demand information improve firms’ business outcomes?
2. If so, through what mechanisms do these effects occur?
Theoretically, the impact is ambiguous. On one hand, competitor demand data may help firms better align their business strategies with prevailing market conditions. On the other hand, it may trigger overreactions or herd behavior—disrupting internal pricing logic, distorting sales pacing, or crowding out firm-specific judgment.
The experiment is designed to isolate the causal impact of competitor demand information and to assess how firms respond to it. The findings will contribute to a broader understanding of strategic information use and offer practical guidance on how firms can leverage competitor demand data in competitive markets.
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Field
Last Published
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Before
August 18, 2025 07:00 AM
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After
August 19, 2025 05:45 AM
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Field
Intervention Start Date
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Before
August 19, 2025
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After
August 20, 2025
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Field
Intervention End Date
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Before
September 30, 2025
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After
October 01, 2025
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Field
Planned Number of Clusters
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Before
about 270 hotels
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After
about 240 hotels
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Field
Planned Number of Observations
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Before
about 270 hotels
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After
about 240 hotels
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Field
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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Before
about 180 hotels control, 90 hotels treatment
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After
about 160 hotels control, 80 hotels treatment
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