Latest Research
Emission Targets as a Way for Tacit Coordination

The goal of the project is to identify cheap talk and faithful signaling in environmental reports issued by the U.S. largest firms and understand the determinants and consequences of cheap talk about firms’ climate responsibility. Read More
The Peril of Pay Variability: Determinants of Worker Aversion to Variable Compensation in Lower-Wage Jobs

Uber. Upwork. TaskRabbit. The world of work is transforming and my research agenda attempts to identify and explain 1) how work is changing and 2) how these changes affect workers, especially those who are marginalized or vulnerable. Read More
Towards a Causal Theory and Test of Network Effects: Structural Holes, Alliance-Network Externalities, and Organizational Innovation

We investigate whether the effect of network position on innovation is causal or spurious. Although empirical evidence demonstrates that certain structural positions in alliance networks (e.g. structural holes) affect firm innovation, it is hard to disentangle the factors allowing a firm to put itself in a certain position from the innovation outcomes that stem from ...Read More
When Should the Off-grid Sun Shine at Night? Optimum Renewable Generation and Energy Storage Investments.

Globally, 1.5 billion people live off the grid, their only access to electricity often limited to operationally-expensive fossil fuel generators. Solar power has risen as a sustainable and less expensive option, but its generation is variable during the day and non-existent at night. Read More
Doing Good for (Maybe) Nothing: How Reward Uncertainty Shapes Observer Responses to Prosocial Behavior

Consumers are often skeptical of social innovation (e.g., CSR), thinking that firms undertake such innovations to increase profit rather than to “do the right thing.” How can firms convey the social and monetary benefits of investing in social innovations to consumers and stakeholders to best improve their brand image? Read More
Field Experiments to Measure the Impact of Solar Lights at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Providing access to cleaner and cheaper lighting solutions is necessary to lift people out of poverty. The magnitude of the economic, health, and educational impacts created by these lighting solutions as we move up the energy ladder, however, is not clear. Read More
Be an Ally: The Role of Identity in Inspiring Collective Action

People are frequently asked to engage in collective action—voting, protesting, signing petitions, donating—to uplift members of traditionally marginalized groups and encourage social change. Prior research suggests that minority group members who advocate for collective action are penalized for doing so, while majority group members are not. In this work, I shift focus from perceptions of ...Read More
Understanding the Network of Websites: How Can We Improve Digital Privacy?

The first study aims to investigate the online data network, in which personal information flows between websites, in order to analyze which privacy policy interventions would be most effective. The second study focuses on individual household’s internet browsing behavior and analyzes vulnerability of different socioeconomic groups to privacy violating data collection activities. Read More
Using Blockchain to Insure Against Climate Risk

Climate change will increase extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and storms. In addition to tragic direct consequences that include deaths and physical damage to homes and businesses, climate change threatens to suppress business investments and slow economic growth by increasing the risk associated with capital investment. Read More
Mergers and Innovation: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry

For this project, we will look at how innovation, measured by phase 3 failures during the FDA approval process, motivates drug companies to acquire competitors and, in doing so, how this subsequent M&A activity affects future successes in the pharmaceutical pipeline. Read More