Costello Research Retail

Zhechao Yang, assistant professor of information systems and operations management at Costello College of Business at George Mason University, has helped develop a machine learning framework that can sift through the online buzz to identify the social media posts most likely to drive product purchases.

Given today’s short attention spans, how much could it really hurt a business to get caught attempting to manipulate their reputation on a platform like Yelp? George Mason University accounting professor Yi Cao has done the math, and it isn’t pretty for businesses willing to cross ethical lines.

The best way to resolve a consumer’s doubts about electric cars is to let them drive one for a day or two. But Ioannis Bellos and Hang Ren, professors in the information systems and operations management area at George Mason University, argue that extended test drives can sometimes do more harm than good, for both profits and the planet.

How do “blind box” products like the Labubu make money? Zhechao Yang, assistant professor of information systems and operations management, has co-authored a paper that breaks down the “win-win-win” at the center of this trendy selling strategy.

Technological advancements and the dynamics of the platform economy make rooting out fraud more complicated than it may seem.

How employees respond to being under surveillance depends on a number of factors, including how good they are at their jobs.

It’s one thing to be a force for good behind the scenes. Having consumers reward you for it, however, depends upon a unique combination of elements.

While book bans are not new to the American electorate, the rise in these bans since 2021 has sparked contentious media debates. Paradoxically, this has increased the readership of banned books and given politicians on both sides a platform to exploit controversy.

China’s complicated and colorful e-commerce landscape gives us a sense of how livestream shopping is transforming retail. Si Xie, assistant professor of information systems and operations management, researches this new trend.

Not only are retailers failing to retain and redirect business from shuttered physical locations, but their performance elsewhere also suffers as a result.