Mark Bender
Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business
University of Pittsburgh ∙ 249 Mervis Hall ∙ Pittsburgh, PA 15260
412.913.3002 ∙ mtb34@pitt.edu
Education
University of Pittsburgh ∙ Pittsburgh, PA Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business Ph.D. Marketing (Expected 2016)
University of Pittsburgh ∙ Pittsburgh, PA M.A. Economics (2011), GPA: 3.64/4.00
Washington and Jefferson College ∙ Washington, PA
B.A. Economics (Honors) and History (2009), GPA: 3.92/4.00, Summa Cum Laude
Phi Beta Kappa
Research Interests Digital Marketing Platforms
Competitive Strategy Applied Game Theory
Dissertation: “Strategic Platforms in the Digital Age”
Committee: Tansev Geylani (co-chair) Esther Gal-Or (co-chair) Kannan Srinivasan Jeff Inman
Kaifu Zhang R. Venkatesh
Essay 1: “Daily Deal Websites as Matchmakers” (with Esther Gal-Or and Tansev Geylani)
Daily deal websites operate as intermediaries (platforms) by selling vendor deals to consumers. We investigate whether these websites can act as matchmakers between vendors and consumers by segmenting each side of the market. Such segmentation ensures an improved match between vendors and consumers in terms of the quality provided by the former and the willingness to pay for quality of the latter. Specifically, while one intermediary can potentially match relatively high quality vendors with high willingness to pay consumers, the other can match the opposite profiles of vendors and consumers. Our results suggest that such segmentation can be attainable if platforms focus on selling products and services in categories with more frequent purchases, in new product markets, and in categories for which it is relatively easy for consumers to detect and disseminate quality information. However, we also show that segmentation can fail altogether, in which case platforms are completely undifferentiated and compete fiercely in prices.
Essay 2 (Job Market Paper): “Price Discrimination Role of Crowdfunding Campaigns” (with Esther Gal-Or and Tansev Geylani)
Crowdfunding campaigns are traditionally used as a means for entrepreneurs to raise capital to fund the development of new products. We show that crowdfunding may serve an additional purpose of acting as a platform to allow entrepreneurs to successfully implement price discrimination.
Crowdfunding can be used to facilitate extraction of additional surplus from high valuation
consumers in comparison to the capacity of uniform pricing to achieve this objective. We show that enhanced surplus extraction is feasible when the total consumer surplus that the project generates and when the development cost of the project are relatively low, and when the extent of
heterogeneity in the consumer population is relatively high. We also provide insights regarding the entrepreneur’s choice of the funder reward and campaign goal, two tools that can enable her to achieve the dual objective of raising funds for the campaign and implementing price discrimination between high and low valuation consumers.
Essay 3: “The Effects of Digital Streaming Platforms on Competition in Digital Content Markets” (with Esther Gal-Or and Tansev Geylani)
We seek to determine whether content producers may open themselves up to cannibalization and a reduction in profits if in addition to selling digital content directly they distribute their content through digital streaming platforms (e.g., Spotify, Netflix, Hulu). Our preliminary analysis shows that it may be profitable for the producer to distribute its content through a streaming platform. This increase in profitability originates from three sources. First, by distributing its content through the streaming platform, the producer is able to reach new customers. Second, because the producer has a stake in the platform’s revenues through royalties, it has reduced incentives to compete on prices with the platform. Third, by allowing the platform to use its content, the producer makes the platform more valuable to consumers. This provides an incentive for the platform to set a higher subscription fee, which in turn, allows the producer to keep its content price high as well.
Journal Publications
“The Impact of Digital Piracy on Music Sales: A Cross-Country Analysis” (with Yongsheng Wang), International Social Science Review, 84(3/4), 2009, pp. 157-170
Conference Presentations
The Effects of Digital Streaming Platforms on Competition in Digital Content Markets Marketing and Research Conference (2015) Charlottesville, VA Price Discrimination Role of Crowdfunding Campaigns
INFORMS Marketing Science Conference (2015) Baltimore, MD An Analytical Model of Crowdfunding
INFORMS Marketing Science Conference (2014) Atlanta, GA Marketing and Research Conference (2014) Washington, DC
Daily Deal Websites as Matchmakers
Platform Strategy Research Symposium (2013) Boston, MA Marketing and Research Conference (2013) State College, PA Frontiers of Research in Marketing Science (2013) Dallas, TX The Impact of Digital Piracy on Music Sales: A Cross-Country Analysis
Southern Economic Association (2008) Washington, DC Pi Gamma Mu Triennial Convention (2008) Atlanta, GA Undergraduate Research at the Capitol (2008) Harrisburg, PA Eastern Economics Association (2008) Boston, MA Teaching Interests Marketing Management Marketing Research Pricing Marketing Strategy Teaching Experience
Instructor; University of Pittsburgh
Introduction to Marketing (Rating 4.62/5) Fall 2014 Introduction to Marketing (Rating 4.41/5) Fall 2013
One-week Business Ph.D. Math Camp Summer 2012, 2013
Doris & Douglas Bernstein PhD Student Teaching Award 2014
Katz Doctoral Program Teaching Award 2013, 2014
Teaching Assistant; University of Pittsburgh
Introduction to Marketing Spring 2013
Managerial Economics (MBA) Fall 2012
Basic Applied Statistics Spring 2011
Introduction to Microeconomics Fall 2010
Elizabeth Baranger Excellence in Teaching Award Spring 2011 Jerome C. Wells Award for Outstanding Teaching Spring 2011
Honors and Awards
University of Pittsburgh
AMA-Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium Fellow (2015)
Doris & Douglas Bernstein Doctoral Student Teaching Award (2014) – awarded to one doctoral student in the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh to recognize a doctoral student who has demonstrated outstanding performance in teaching
Katz Doctoral Program Teaching Award (2013, 2014)
Jerome C. Wells Award for Outstanding Teaching (2011) – awarded to one TA in the economics department at the University of Pittsburgh to recognize outstanding teaching of an undergraduate economics course
Elizabeth Baranger Excellence in Teaching Award (2011) – awarded to two students enrolled in the social sciences at the University of Pittsburgh to recognize excellence in graduate student teaching Giant Eagle Fellow (2011)
Washington & Jefferson College
Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honor Society
Dean’s List Alpha Scholar GPA 3.85 and above (2006, 2007, 2008)
Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics Honor Society
Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences
Kappa Delta Epsilon Education Honor Society
Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society
Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society for First Year Students
Order of Omega Greek Leadership Honor Society
Benjamin Franklin Prize in Economics and Business (2009) Henry Willson Temple Scholar in History (2009)
Summer Research Stipend (2008) Professional Experience
Pharmaceutical Economics Research Group Pittsburgh, PA
Research Internship 2011
Bechtel (Bettis) Marine Propulsion Corporation West Mifflin, PA Business System & Property Administrator Internship 2009
Positions Held
Doctoral Student Organization, Katz Graduate School of Business
Vice-President 2011-2013
Pi Gamma Mu, International Honor Society in Social Sciences
PhD Coursework Marketing
Marketing Models R. Venkatesh
Marketing Strategy Vanitha Swaminathan
Consumer Behavior Catherine Lamberton
Advanced Data Analysis (Carnegie Mellon) Peter Boatwright
Analytical Models in Marketing (Carnegie Mellon) Kinshuk Jerath
Behavioral Economics (Carnegie Mellon) George Loewenstein
Microeconomics Esther Gal-Or
Pro-Seminar in Marketing Katz Marketing Faculty
Economics
Advanced Macroeconomic Theory I Marla Ripoll
Advanced Macroeconomic Theory II John Duffy
Advanced Microeconomic Theory I Sourav Bhattacharya
Advanced Microeconomic Theory II Andreas Blume
General Econometrics J.F. Richard
Advanced Econometrics 2 Arie Berensteau
Introduction to Econometric Theory Soiliou Namoro
Labor Market Analysis 2 Randy Walsh
Market Design (Carnegie Mellon) Isa Hafalir
Political Economy Sourav Bhattacharya
Public Finance Lise Vesterlund
Teaching Economics James Cassing
Topics in Experimental Economics John Duffy
Topics in Microeconomic Theory Andreas Blume
Methods
Multivariate Analysis (Carnegie Mellon) Alan Montgomery
Behavioral Research Methods Dennis Galletta
Experimental Design Clem Stone
Introduction to Mathematical Methods Alexander Matros
Introduction to Probability Modeling (Carnegie Mellon) Jiashun Jin
References
Dr. Tansev Geylani Dr. Esther Gal-Or Dr. R. Venkatesh University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh Katz Grad. School of Business Katz Grad. School of Business Katz Grad. School of Business
320 Mervis Hall 222 Mervis Hall 332 Mervis Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15260 Pittsburgh, PA 15260 Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Email: tgeylani@katz.pitt.edu Email: esther@katz.pitt.edu Email: rvenkat@katz.pitt.edu Phone: 412.383.7411 Phone: 412.648.1722 Phone: 412.648.1725
