Jan. 8, 2020
New Moore School management science assistant professor Necati Tereyağoğlu thinks that management science with a focus on data can impact how value is determined in business markets.
In his research, Tereyağoğlu studies organizations’ revenue management and pricing strategies. Revenue management and pricing strategies are the methods companies use to sell the right product to the right customer at the right time for the right price. He currently explores when and how the activities in resale markets that surround organizations’ products should be accounted for in revenue management and pricing strategies.
Pricing strategies for new products entering the primary market must account for resale products because they can enter the market at the same time. An example would be the price of a Lady Gaga concert ticket versus the sale of a ticket for the same concert at a later date for a much higher price. Tereyağoğlu researches the implications of the interplay between these two divisions of business.
“I use ticket transactions data to understand how pricing strategies for experience goods are implemented and try to identify ways of incorporating the dynamics of both primary and resale markets to [help businesses] make better decisions,” Tereyağoğlu said.
Experience goods are products or services where product characteristics, like quality and price, are difficult to observe in advance but are ascertained upon consumption. Examples of experience goods include healthcare, restaurants, beauty services and entertainment like concerts, movies and sporting events.
Tereyağoğlu’s research focuses specifically on the resale market for retail, automotive and entertainment goods.
“The resale economy is growing faster than the primary counterpart for [these industries],” Tereyağoğlu said. “Integrating this growing shift with operational decisions will be a major determinant of success for many organizations.”
For instance, if the organizers can identify the right ticket price with resale markets in mind, they may avoid situations where these same tickets are available at an excessively lower or higher price in the future.
Tereyağoğlu routinely tracks organizations’ announcements of new pricing or sales policies so that he can measure the effect of price changes on consumer purchasing decisions.
Consequently, he explores whether and when the new pricing policies are effective. In his recent research on variable pricing policies in the NFL, Tereyagoglu examined policies for different teams and found these ticket policies do not lead to unintended negative consequences in resale markets.
New to USC in fall 2019, Tereyağoğlu said he is excited to utilize data and analytics in both the classroom and his research at the Moore School, especially with the Moore School’s emphasis on data proficiency and analytical capability.
“Plus, seeing the collegial environment [in the management science department] helped me finalize my decision [to teach here],” Tereyağoğlu added.
While urging his students to use their education to continue improving business operations, Tereyağoğlu offers this advice: “In a world where uncertainty is less tolerated, management science is a key to harness and take control of the situation by showing how to utilize data and analytics.”
-Erin Mooney