How tech companies like Google, Airbnb, StubHub, and Facebook learn
from experiments in our data-driven world--an excellent primer on
experimental and behavioral economics
Have you logged into Facebook recently? Searched for something on
Google? Chosen a movie on Netflix? If so, you've probably been an
unwitting participant in a variety of experiments--also known as
randomized controlled trials--designed to test the impact of different
online experiences. Once an esoteric tool for academic research, the
randomized controlled trial has gone mainstream. No tech company worth
its salt (or its share price) would dare make major changes to its
platform without first running experiments to understand how they would
influence user behavior. In this book, Michael Luca and Max Bazerman
explain the importance of experiments for decision making in a
data-driven world.
Luca and Bazerman describe the central role experiments play in the tech
sector, drawing lessons and best practices from the experiences of such
companies as StubHub, Alibaba, and Uber. Successful experiments can save
companies money--eBay, for example, discovered how to cut $50 million
from its yearly advertising budget--or bring to light something
previously ignored, as when Airbnb was forced to confront rampant
discrimination by its hosts. Moving beyond tech, Luca and Bazerman
consider experimenting for the social good--different ways that
governments are using experiments to influence or "nudge" behavior
ranging from voter apathy to school absenteeism. Experiments, they
argue, are part of any leader's toolkit. With this book, readers can
become part of "the experimental revolution."
