Consumer Pseudo-Showrooming and Omni-Channel Placement Strategies

Management Information Systems Quarterly Vol. 41, Iss. 2 (2017)

Zheyin (Jane) Gu, Giri Kumar Tayi

Recent advances in information technologies (IT) have powered the merger of online and offline retail channels into one single platform. Modern consumers frequently switch between online and offline channels when they navigate through various stages of the decision journey, motivating multichannel sellers to develop omni-channel strategies that optimize their overall profit. This study examines consumers' cross-channel search behavior of "pseudo-showrooming," or the consumer behavior of inspecting one product at a seller's physical store before buying a related but different product at the same seller’s online store, and investigates how such consumer behavior allows a multichannel seller to achieve better coordination between its online and offline arms through optimal product placement strategies. Full article.

UConn Innovation Quest: Podstories

July 5, 2017

CTStartup Podcast– CTStartup was invited to interview the finalists of UConn’s Innovation Quest, a startup incubator program that seeks to help entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life.

Appropriately enough, our first interview is with Ali Oshinskie of Podstores, who hops to turn this casting medium into an effective way for businesses to tell their story to consumers. Tune in for what could be the future of business podcasting.

My English Summer Adventure: Week 2

July 3, 2017

It has been two weeks since we left to embark on this English summer adventure. With each passing day, my colleagues and I feel more at home in our new environment. We no longer take our time meandering in the tube station trying to navigate our way through London; rather, we stride with confidence to our desired destination with ease. Continue Reading

Thinking like an Entrepreneur to Advance Science

UConn Today – Sandra Weller has devoted most of her career to learning how the ubiquitous herpes simplex virus replicates and infects people. She focused on this common pathogen because of its widespread impact – it infects two-thirds of the world’s population – and because of its painful symptoms, which can range in severity from bothersome to life-threatening.

But in the past year, she has shifted her focus to another member of the herpes virus family, cytomegalovirus, which has a much greater immediate patient need and stronger commercial potential. With support from a drug discovery consortium comprising UConn, UConn Health, and Yale University, Weller is now thinking like an entrepreneur to more quickly advance her scientific discoveries.

Is Ambiguity Always a Bad Thing?

Healthcare IT is increasingly complex because of the policy and regulation uncertainties that dominate industry strategic planning. Savvy CIOs have always understood that innovation arises from ambiguity, however, this is truer today than in the past. Continue Reading

Business School Recognized by National Association of Women MBAs

June 29, 2017

NAWMBA plaque presented to John Elliott, Marlys Rizzi, John Knopf (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
The National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA) presented a plaque to John A. Elliott, dean of the School of Business, Marlys Rizzi, 2016 NAWMBA National Conference Chair and a business school assistant director, and John Knopf, Stamford campus director for the School of Business, on June 14. Missing is Lucy Gilson, head of the management department and the UConn faculty advisor to the local NAWMBA chapter. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

National Association of Women MBAs Thanks UConn for Its ‘Vital’ Contributions to Program’s Success

A plaque was presented in appreciation for the UConn School of Business hosting the 2016 NAWMBA Conference and Career Fair in Stamford last October. The plaque thanks the School and describes its contribution as vital to the success of the educational and networking conference.