Events

Professor Tianshu Sun
Dean’s Distinguished Chair Professor of Information Systems
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB)

Personal data has become a key input in Internet Commerce and Search Engine, facilitating the matching between millions of customers and merchants. Recent data regulation in Europe, US and China restricts platforms’ ability to collect and use personal data for personalized recommendation and search, and may fundamentally impact Internet Commerce and Search Engine. In this talk, I will discuss a series of high-stake field experiments in collaboration with the world’s largest E-commerce platform. In the first experiment, we conduct a large-scale field experiment to measure the potential impact of data regulation on E-commerce platform, and to understand the value of personal data in Internet Commerce. For a large and random subset of the customers on the platform, we simulate the regulation by banning the use of personal data in the homepage recommendation algorithm and record the matching process and outcomes between these customers and merchants. Compared to the control group using personal data, we observe a significant change in the algorithmic recommendation of product matching in the treatment group and a very sharp decrease in the matching outcomes as measured by both customer engagement (clickthrough rate and product browsing) and market transaction (GMV). The negative effect is disproportionate and more pronounced for niche merchants and customers who would benefit most from E-commerce. We further explore the granular data and find evidence that the ban of personal data significantly increases customers’ search cost for long tail products and may reduce their welfare gained from E-commerce. In the second experiment, we randomly vary the use of personal data in the search engine for Internet Commerce and demonstrate the differential value of personal data in recommendation versus search. Finally, we discuss the economic implication of data regulation on Internet Commerce and Search Engine, the role of personal data in fostering long-tail innovations and SME entrepreneurship, as well as potential ways to create value while preserving privacy in the Digital Economy.

Tianshu Sun is Dean’s Distinguished Chair Professor of Information Systems and Director of Center for Digital Transformation at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB). He was Robert R. Dockson Associate Professor at USC Marshall School of Business, with a joint appointment in Computer Science. Tianshu’s research conducted in collaboration with leading platforms addresses how firms can use large-scale field experiments in conjunction with structural econometrics model and AI/GPT/machine learning to improve business decisions. His current research is focused on Digital Transformation and examines how firms can actively 1) use IT-enabled and data-driven interventions to mediate social sharing and network formation; 2) leverage Mobile and Internet of Things to integrate individuals’ online and offline experience and 3) measure the value and regulate the use of personal data in the digital economy. Tianshu has worked closely with a variety of technology companies in US and Asia including Facebook, Alibaba, Cainiao, Adobe, Groupon, and NetEase. Tianshu’s research is published in Management Science, ISR, MISQ, M&SOM, QME, and Journal of Health Economics, and has received 18 Best Paper Awards/Nominations from top outlets in business, economics and computer science (ICIS, WISE, CIST, INFORMS, ECML, QME) and research gifts from Facebook, Adobe, Marketing Science Institute, and Net Institute. He is serving as the Associate Editor at ISR and M&SOM, and Guest Associate Editor at Management Science and at MISQ (regular issues and special issues), and has received Distinguish and Meritorious Service Awards at Management Science (2016-2022). Tianshu has developed a series of new courses on Digital Transformation, Big Data Analytics, and Digital Platforms and was honored with USC Golden Apple Award (for Best Teacher). Tianshu received his Bachelor in Physics from Nanjing University, and Master in Physics and PhD in Information Systems from University of Maryland.