Inference and Impact of Category Captaincy
Management Science (2025, 71(9), pp.7223-8095)

Abstract

This paper studies category captaincy, a vertical relationship where retailers delegate shelf placement and pricing decisions of an entire product category to one of the leading manufacturers within that category. These contracts involve preferential treatment given to certain brands within the retailer. However, they are confidential and empirical analysis has been limited. To study the prevalence and welfare impact of these contracts, I develop a novel approach to infer the presence of captaincy contracts based on preferential treatment in shelf placement and pricing. I first classify retailers into different captaincy types based on a brand * retailer specific quality of shelf placement inferred from a demand model. I then conduct pricing tests and find that captains, in line with theoretical predictions and industry anecdotes, eliminate double markups from their own products but not from competitor products. Comparative statics show that captaincy relationships increase the market share of the captain, but they can also increase consumer welfare by about 5% due to the elimination of double markups on the captain’s products.

Who Is AI Replacing? The Impact of ChatGPT on Online Labor Markets with Ozge Demirci and Jonas Hannane
Management Science (2025, 71(10), pp.8097-8108)
Media Coverage: The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Harvard Business School D3 Insights, IB Knowledge, MIT Sloan Management Review, Crisscrossed, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Associated Press, Daily Mail, The Mirror, NBC New York, The Economic Times, TIME Magazine

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of Generative AI technologies on the demand for online freelancers using a large dataset from a leading global freelancing platform. We identify the types of jobs that are more affected by Generative AI and quantify the magnitude of the heterogeneous impact. Our findings indicate a 21% decrease in the number of job posts for automation-prone jobs related to writing and coding, compared to jobs requiring manual-intensive skills, within eight months after the introduction of ChatGPT. We show that the reduction in the number of job posts increases competition among freelancers while the remaining automation-prone jobs are of greater complexity and offer higher pay. We also find that the introduction of Image-generating AI technologies led to a 17% decrease in the number of job posts related to image creation. We use Google Trends to show that the more pronounced decline in the demand for freelancers within automation-prone jobs correlates with their higher public awareness of ChatGPT’s substitutability.

Frontiers: Spilling the Beans on Political Consumerism: Do Social Media Boycotts and Buycotts Translate to Real Sales Impact? with Jura Liaukonyte and Anna Tuchman
Marketing Science (2023, 42(1), pp.11-25)
Media Coverage: BBC4 Analysis, BBC4 AntiSocial, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, The Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, MSN, CBC Radio, BBC Radio, AFP, Cornell Chronicle, Kellogg Insight, Food Dive

Abstract

Brands increasingly face pressure from consumers to take a stance on political issues, but there is limited empirical evidence on the effect of political consumerism on sales. In this paper, we quantify the consequences of a brand taking a political stance. In July 2020, the chief executive officer of Goya, a large Latin food brand, praised then president Donald Trump, triggering a boycott and a counter buycott movement supporting the brand. Using consumer-level purchase data, we measure the net effect of the boycott/buycott movements on sales. Boycott-related social media posts and media coverage dominated buycott ones, but the sales impact was the opposite: Goya sales temporarily increased by 22%. However, this net sales boost fully dissipated within three weeks. We then explore heterogeneity in the sales response with the goal of understanding which households are most likely to engage in political consumerism and what factors serve as frictions to participation. We document large sales increases (56.4%) in heavily Republican counties but do not find a strong countervailing boycott effect in heavily Democratic counties or among Goya’s core customer base—Latino consumers. Finally, we show that brand loyalty and switching costs are potential explanations for the limited evidence of boycotting among experienced Goya customers.

Rejoinder: Spilling more Beans on Political Consumerism: It is More of the Same Tune with Jura Liaukonyte and Anna Tuchman
Invited comment, Marketing Science (2023, 42(1), pp.32-36)

Abstract

Lelkes (2022) and Bronnenberg and Dubé (2022) provide thoughtful comments on Liaukonytė et al. (2022) and give additional context for how our work relates to the broader literature on political consumerism, polarization, and corporate political engagement. The comments also highlight important areas for future research especially as they relate to the generalizability of our findings, identification challenges, and consumer motivation to engage in political consumerism. In this rejoinder, we expand on each of these three points. In revisiting the generalizability angle, we also document the aftermath of another high-profile social media boycott campaign: widely publicized calls to boycott Spotify did not harm Spotify’s subscriber numbers or revenue, which grew at a similar rate as before the controversy. We discuss this and other similarities between the Spotify and Goya boycotts.

GMO and non-GMO Labeling Effects: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment with Aaron Adalja, Jura Liaukonyte and Emily Wang
Marketing Science (2023, 42(2), pp233-250)

Abstract

The United States recently mandated disclosure labels on all foods that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), despite longstanding, widespread use of voluntary third-party non-GMO labeling. We leverage the earlier passage and implementation of a mandatory GMO labeling law in Vermont as a quasi-natural experiment to show that adding this mandatory labeling into a market with pre-existing voluntary non-GMO labels had no effect on demand. Instead, the legislative process made consumers aware of GMO topics and increased non-GMO product sales before the GMO labeling mandate went into effect. The GMO-related legislative processes also increased non-GMO product demand in other states that considered, but did not implement, GMO labeling mandates. We find that 36% of new non-GMO product adoption can be explained by differences in consumer awareness tied to legislative activity. Our findings suggest that voluntary non-GMO labels may have provided an efficient disclosure mechanism without mandatory GMO labels.

Lessons from the Bud Light Boycott, One Year Later with Jura Liaukonyte and Anna Tuchman
Harvard Business Review (March 2024)

Research: How Gen AI Is Already Impacting the Labor Market with Ozge Demirci and Jonas Hannane
Harvard Business Review (November 2024)

Swap and Save: How a Button Shapes Lasting Online Grocery Shopping Behavior with Ruben Gonzalvez, Xiaolin Li, and Sarit Weisburd
Accepted at Marketing Science

From Calls to Action: Leveraging Call Center Data for Product and Production Management with Nagesh Gavirneni, Miguel Gomez, and Koichi Yonezawa
Revise and Resubmit at Manufacturing and Service Operations Management

Long-term Vertical Contracts, Geography, and the Persistence of Brand Shares with Robert Clark and Jean-François Houde
In submission

The Welfare and Nutritional Effects of Threshold Sin Taxes: Evidence from the UK Soda Tax with Stephan Seiler, Jiajia Zhan

Health at a Discount? Nutritional Quality and Prices of Private Labels vs. Branded Products with Alina Ozhegova, Gokhan Yildirim

Vertical Relationships and New Product Introduction—Evidence from the US Yogurt Industry with Marco Duarte, Meilin Ma, and Yujing Song

Constraining Champions: How A Spending Cap Influenced Competition In Formula One with Xiaolin Li, Nicolette Sullivan, and Ye Xu

Household-Specific Price Index and Purchasing Patterns during the Price-Surging Period with Lijing Wang and Gokhan Yildirim

2026
MSI Young Scholar Award — selected as an MSI 2025 Young Scholar.
March 20, 2026

Marketing Science Service Award — awarded for Editorial Board membership.
February 13, 2026


2025
Annual Bass FORMS Conference — UT Dallas, February 28 – March 1, 2025

Workshop on Competition Policy — Centre for Competition Economics

YES Marketing GEN2 Conference — University of Cologne, August 29, 2025

Marketing Science Conference — Washington DC, June 13–15, 2025

EMAC Annual Conference — Madrid, May 27–30, 2025

International Industrial Organization Conference — Philadelphia, May 2–4, 2025

Bristol University IO Day
CRESSE — Chania, Crete, July 4–6, 2025


2024
Annual Bass FORMS Conference

International Industrial Organization Conference

Mannheim University Marketing Science Conference

CRESSE

Empirical IO Workshop of Retail, Food, and Nutrition — Mannheim University

Marketing for Environmental Sustainability — Stanford University


2023
Management Science Workshop — Goethe University

International Industrial Organization Conference

Marketing Science Conference

CRESSE

Empirical IO Workshop of Retail, Food, and Nutrition — Mannheim University


2022
Paris-Saclay University (INRAE)
SEM Conference — Bank of Canada

Marketing Science Conference

CRESSE

European Quantitative Marketing Seminar

APIOC

Israel IO Day


2021
International Industrial Organization Conference — Rising Star Session

Marketing Science Conference

Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting

Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

OSU (Fisher School of Management)

Xiamen University

Santa Clara University (Leavey School of Business)

UCLA (Anderson School of Management)

Imperial College London (Business School)

University of Minnesota (Carlson School of Management)

City University of Hong Kong

Chinese University of Hong Kong

University College London (School of Management)