Encouraging Experimentation: Persuading Individuals to Experiment Through Information
Stuart School of Business research presentation by: Assistant Professor of Business Analytics and Strategy Stanton Hudja
Encouraging Experimentation: Persuading Individuals to Experiment Through Information
- Assistant Professor of Business Analytics and Strategy Stanton Hudja
Abstract:
We analyze whether informing individuals about the benefits of experimentation can encourage individuals to experiment with an unknown option. In an experimental study, we repeatedly present each subject with one of four different messages regarding the two options in a two-decision one-armed bandit problem. Two of these four messages encourage an individual to initially experiment with the unknown option, while the two other messages encourage an individual to initially select the known option. We find that the individuals who receive the message about the informational benefits of experimentation consistently experiment at the highest rate. Importantly, this message consistently leads to more experimentation than a control message that is designed to capture the demand effect from suggesting experimentation. Overall, our results suggest that it is possible to both encourage individuals to experiment in a one-shot environment and use messaging in a manner that leads to a durably higher rate of experimentation across bandit problems. Our results also suggest that explaining the benefits of experimentation in one environment may spillover to other environments.
All 杏吧原创 Tech faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend.
The Friday Research Presentations series showcases ongoing academic research projects conducted by Stuart School of Business faculty and students, as well as guest presentations by 杏吧原创 Tech colleagues, business professionals, and faculty from other leading business schools.