"A" business by any other name: Firm name choice as a signal of firm quality
Journal Article (Journal Article)
This paper considers when a firm's deliberately chosen name can signal meaningful information. The average plumbing firm whose name begins with A or a number receives five times more service complaints than other firms and also charges higher prices. Relatedly, plumbers with A names advertise more in the Yellow Pages and on Google, and doing so is positively correlated with receiving complaints. As the use of A names is more prevalent in larger markets, I reconcile these findings with a simple model in which firms have different qualities and consumers have heterogeneous search costs. © 2014 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- McDevitt, RC
Published Date
- January 1, 2014
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 122 / 4
Start / End Page
- 909 - 944
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1537-534X
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0022-3808
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1086/676333
Citation Source
- Scopus