Shuffling as a Sales Tactic: An Experimental Study of Selling Product Rankings

Qichao Shi (), James A. Dearden () and Ernest K. Lai ()
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Qichao Shi: School of Economics and China Center for Behavioral Economics and Finance, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China
James A. Dearden: Department of Economics, College of Business, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015
Ernest K. Lai: Department of Economics, College of Business, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015

Management Science, 2025, vol. 71, issue 5, 3944-3965

Abstract: We investigate the strategic interaction between a product expert and a consumer. The expert publicly commits to a ranking methodology to rank two products with uncertain relative merits; the consumer decides whether to acquire the ranking report to guide her product choice. The expert cares only about selling the report; the consumer derives utility from the product itself and an extra ranking attribute controlled by the expert. Strategic shuffling, in which the expert induces demand for his report by manipulating the uncertainty in product rankings, emerges as an equilibrium phenomenon. When the consumer highly values the top-ranked product, the expert-optimal equilibrium, which features shuffling, diverges from the consumer-optimal equilibrium. Laboratory evidence supports the predictions of the expert-optimal equilibrium. With limited field data because of the proprietary nature of ranking methodologies, our study provides useful alternative evidence on how ranking publishers may adopt methodologies that are not in consumers’ best interests.

Keywords: product ranking; university ranking; product guidance; ranking uncertainty; laboratory experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:71:y:2025:i:5:p:3944-3965

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