Vandana Ramachandran
Associate Professor (Lecturer)
Department of Operations and Information Systems, Master of Science in Business Analytics
Faculty, Tenure Track
Vandana Ramachandran is an Assistant Professor in the Operations & Information Systems Department. She examines information consumption of online consumers and the digitization of information and teaches Information Systems Analysis
Full research statement: The growth of the Internet and other digitization technologies has enabled the unbundling of the physical and information components of the value chain and has led to an explosion of information made available to online consumers. In addition, digitization has transformed the dynamics of many traditional settings including retail, media and advertising, leaving firms to compete in markets with new rules and players. The fundamental changes brought about by digitization call for a systematic analysis of their impacts. Understanding the implications of this new informational landscape for theory and practice is one of the key objectives of my research. Online technologies have equipped firms with tools that allow them to move closer to offering targeted information. A key resource that aids in this strategy is the online search conducted by users. One stream of my research seeks to understand how firms can use their knowledge of online consumer search and information seeking behaviors to design optimal information provision strategies in online markets. A second stream examines the economic outcomes in paid search auctions or sponsored search advertising contexts. I am interested in learning about how firms make bidding and advertising decisions, and ways in which they can improve their strategies by better understanding how consumers search in these markets. A third and most recent stream examines the emergent crowd-based platforms for capital and labor, namely crowdfunding and crowdsourcing. I am very interested in examining the economic and social factors that are at play on crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Sellaband. My work attempts to model how peer influence and observational learning affect participant decisions when they fund multiple projects across time. Another related study examines participant dynamics in crowdsourced design contests, and ways in which platforms can improve both the quality and efficiency of submissions, and post-contest earnings.
B.S. 2002, Computer Science and Computer Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
M.S. 2003, Information Systems, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Ph.D. 2010, Information Systems (spec. Econometrics), University of Maryland, College Park
IS 4430-001 Systems Analysis & Des
IS 4999-001 IS Hon Thesis Project
Vandana Ramachandran, Yang Wang & Olivia Sheng (2015). Product Trial versus Online Product Fit Opinions: A Balancing Act on Fit Uncertainty. . University of Utah Working Papers. Discipline based – refereed, In progress, 12/2015.
Vandana Ramachandran, Siva Viswanathan & Hank Lucas (2015). Clicks to Conversion: States of Shopping and the role of Online Information . . University of Utah, working papers. Discipline based – refereed, Other, 12/2015.
Vandana Ramachandran & Siva Viswanathan (2015). Online Product Information and Traditional Quality Signals in Used Good Markets. . University of Utah, working papers. Discipline based – refereed, Other, 12/2015.
Vandana Ramachandran & Anqi Xu (2015). Investing in Equity Crowdfunding: Does Following Syndicates Payoff?. . University of Utah Working Papers. Other, 12/2015.
Vandana Ramachandran (2015). Crowdfunding the next hit: Learning from Peers in Microfunding Online Experience Goods . . University of Utah, working papers. Discipline based – refereed, Other, 12/2015.
Vandana Ramachandran (2015). Signals of Success: Collective Dynamics in Crowdsourcing Contests. . University of Utah, working papers. Discipline based – refereed, Other, 12/2015.
Vandana Ramachandran & Hemant Bhargava (2014). Weekend Effect in Internet Search Advertising?. University of Utah Working Papers. Discipline based – refereed, In progress, 05/2014.
Vandana Ramachandran, Ritu Agarwal & Abhay Mishra (2012). Business Strategy and IT-Enabled Business Capabilities: Fits, Misfits, and Firm Performance. University of Utah, working papers. Discipline based – refereed, In progress, 06/2012.
Vandana Ramachandran & Arun Sundararajan (2012). Searching Under the Influence? Explaining Beer Price Dispersion in New York City. The University of Utah, working papers. Discipline based – refereed, Other, 03/2012.
Vandana Ramachandran & Anand Gopal (2010). Managers’ Judgments of Performance in IT Services Outsourcing. Journal of Management Information Systems. Vol. 26, 181-218. Discipline based – refereed, Published, 04/2010.
http://www.jmis-web.org/articles/v26_n4_p181/index…– opens new window
Animesh Animesh, Vandana Ramachandran & Siva Viswanathan (2010). Quality Uncertainty and the Performance of Online Sponsored Search Markets: An Empirical Investigation*. Information System Research. Vol. 21, 190-201. Discipline based – refereed, Published, 03/2010.
http://isr.journal.informs.org/content/21/1/190.ab…
- Vandana Ramachandran, & Yang Wang, Olivia Sheng, Bill Moore. (2016) Product Trial versus Online Product Fit Opinions: A Balancing Act on Fit Uncertainty. Conference Paper, Refereed, Submitted, 01/2016.
- Vandana Ramachandran, & Yang Wang, Olivia Sheng. (2015) Quality versus Fit – The Differential Impact of Online Opinions on Product Purchase and Return. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/2015.
- Yang Wang, & Olivia Sheng, Bill Moore, Vandhana Ramachandran. (2014) WOM, Movie Star and Fans: Foreign Movie Demand Prediction Using Derived Networks. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/11/2014.
- VANDANA RAMACHANDRAN, & Siva Viswanathan and Hank Lucas. (2010) Clicks to Conversion: The Impact of Product and Price Information. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 12/2010.
- VANDANA RAMACHANDRAN, & Siva Viswanathan, Hank Lucas. (2010) Click-Tracks: Understanding Consumers’ Online Information Search Behaviors and Purchase Outcomes in Online Retailing. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/11/2010.
- VANDANA RAMACHANDRAN, & Chris Ward. (2010) Crowdfunding the Next Hit: Microfunding Online Experience Goods. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/2010.
- VANDANA RAMACHANDRAN, & Arun Sundararajan. (2009) Searching Under the Influence? Explaining Beer Price Dispersion in New York City. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 12/2009.
- VANDANA RAMACHANDRAN (2009) Crowdsourcing the Next Best Idea: An Empirical Examination of Collective Dynamics in Resolving Quality Uncertainty. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/2009.
- International Conference of Information Systems. Associate Editor, Economics, and Value of IS track. 06/2012 – present
- Conference of Information Systems &Technologies. Program Committee. 09/2010 – present
- Academy of Management. Associate Editor for Conference track (Organizational Communication and Information Systems OCIS ). 08/2010 – 08/2012
- International Conference on Mobile Business ICMB/GRM . Program Committee. 06/2010 – 06/2014
- Management Science, Management Information Systems Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Journal of Management Information Systems, and International Journal of Electronic Commerce, ACM Transactions on MIS, INFORMS Journal of Computing. Reviewer. 01/2010 – present
- Information systems faculty hiring. co-ordinator, 12/2015 – 02/2016. Department service.
- Information System Seminar Series . Co-ordinator, 05/2015 – 08/2016. Department service.
- Honors Committee Department Representative- OIS. 08/2011 – present. College service.
- Co-chair, Winter Conference on Business Intelligence 2012. 08/2011 – 03/2013. Department service.
- Winter Conference on Business Intelligence program committee. 02/2010 – present. Department service.
- Leonardo Museum, Salt Lake City. 12/2015 – 05/2016
- Systems Analysis and Design projects with local companies. 08/2011 – present
- Lowell Bennion Community Service Center Volunteer – Homeless Youth/Teen Programs. 05/2015 – present
