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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 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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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 daily update 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 19, 2025 05:45 AM
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After
August 20, 2025 09:43 AM
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Field
Intervention (Public)
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Before
The primary intervention in this study involves providing competitor demand information through a hotel-facing information system operated by a leading SaaS provider in China’s hospitality industry. Participating hotels are randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control group.
Treatment Group: Hotels in the treatment group can view the identities of their designated key competitors and receive twice-daily updates (around 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM) via the system. Each update includes an estimate of the average sold inventory across those competitors for the following day (i.e., the day after the information is provided).
Control Group: Hotels in the control group also access the same system and can view the identities of their key competitors, but they do not receive any demand-related information.
Both groups receive regular reminders to check the system. Apart from the availability of demand estimates, the interface and experience are otherwise identical across groups, allowing us to isolate the causal impact of competitor demand information on hotel behavior and performance.
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After
The primary intervention in this study involves providing competitor demand information through a hotel-facing information system operated by a leading SaaS provider in China’s hospitality industry. Participating hotels are randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control group.
Treatment Group: Hotels in the treatment group can view the identities of their designated key competitors and receive daily update (around 1:00 PM) via the system. Each update includes information of the average sold inventory across those competitors for the following day (i.e., the day after the information is provided).
Control Group: Hotels in the control group also access the same system and can view the identities of their key competitors, but they do not receive any demand-related information.
Both groups receive regular reminders to check the system. Apart from the availability of demand estimates, the interface and experience are otherwise identical across groups, allowing us to isolate the causal impact of competitor demand information on hotel behavior and performance.
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Field
Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
This study uses a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of providing competitor demand information on firm performance. Participating hotels are randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control group.
Treatment Group: Hotels in this group access an information system showing the identities of their key competitors, along with twice-daily updates of the average sold inventory across those competitors for the following day.
Control Group: Hotels in this group access the same system and can view the identities of their key competitors, but do not receive demand-related information.
All hotels receive regular reminders to check the system. The interface and system access are otherwise identical across groups.
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After
This study uses a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of providing competitor demand information on firm performance. Participating hotels are randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control group.
Treatment Group: Hotels in this group access an information system showing the identities of their key competitors, along with daily update of the average sold inventory across those competitors for the following day.
Control Group: Hotels in this group access the same system and can view the identities of their key competitors, but do not receive demand-related information.
All hotels receive regular reminders to check the system. The interface and system access are otherwise identical across groups.
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