Getting on the Map: The Impact of Online Listings on Business Performance

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Luca, Michael; Nagaraj, Abhishek; Subramani, Gauri
• 署名单位: Johns Hopkins University; University of California System; University of California Berkeley; Lehigh University
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2024.04716
• 发表日期: 2026
• 关键词: online platforms; Marketing; information systems; economics of information

摘要

We evaluate the extent to which small businesses maintain an online presence and estimate the impact of digital representation on business performance. Looking at a review platform, we find that roughly 18% of bars and restaurants in our sample do not have a listing as of the end of 2017, even though creating one is free. We then estimate the effect of adding a new listing using tax records on revenues combined with temporal variation in listing activity as well as a natural experiment that added over a thousand businesses to the platform via a data acquisition. The results suggest that new listings increase revenues in the range of 5%-10%; however, these effects vary substantially across establishments. Establishments that struggle to develop a reputation (e.g., nonchains or those in tourist areas) and those with a higher quality of product (e.g., larger restaurants or those with good reviews) experience larger increases after being listed.