Research Interests

Quantitative modeling of social influence and shared consumption, Firm and user generated contents, Bayesian statistical inference, Machine learning, Business networks, Entertainment industry

Research

Ph.D. Office during Michigan years
The two main research streams that I am broadly interested in are (1) Quantitative modeling of firm- and user-generated contents and (2) Quantitative modeling of social influence in business and consumer settings. Please see a list of selected projects below. For the full list of on-going projects, please refer to CV.

​I have experience with a wide range of quantitative research methods, ranging from working with network data, image processing, to running experiments using surveys and physiological measures. 

Quantitative modeling of firm and user generated contents

"The Moral Significance of Aesthetic Quality in Nature Imagery"
- Published at ​Psychological Science, 33 (9) 2022   
​​- with Julia Lee Cunningham & Anocha Aribarg  ​
  • Nominated as outstanding research for the university-wide NTU research magazine Pushing Frontiers - “AI and Marketing: Beautiful Nature Images Inspire People to Care”.
  • Using deep learning and experimental studies, we show the causal effect of visual aesthetics on social media engagement and moral concern, which is explained by self-transcendent emotions (awe and inspiration) and purity associated with an image
​"Does Topic Consistency Matter? A Study of Critic and User Reviews in the Movie Industry" 
​​​- Published at Journal of Marketing, 2023
​- with Annie Ding, Xin (Shane) Wang & Shijie Lu   
  • ​​This research shows the topic consistency, or the degree of content overlap between critic and user review content, increases movie demand, and suggest a potential mechanism

Quantitative modeling of social influence

​"Social versus Economic Factors in Network Formation:  An Empirical Analysis of the Multi-level Marketing Industry" 
​​- with Puneet Manchanda  (working paper) 
"The Impact of Network and Spatial Embeddedness on Salespeople Inactivity in Direct Selling Organizations" 
​​- with Puneet Manchanda  (working paper) 
​"How Shared Consumption Enhances Entertainment Experiences" 
​​​- with Anocha Aribarg & Natasha Zhang Foutz 
- ​Featured in Marketing Science Institute ( MSI ) Working Paper Series, Report No. 16 - 126