I am a Professor of Marketing at the McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin. Broadly speaking, my research studies the role of market frictions in shaping marketing policies, such as pricing and sales management. My teaching portfolio consists of graduate courses in Pricing, Marketing Analytics, and Marketing Research Methods. Recently, I have become quite interested in the impact of Artificial Intelligence on Marketing and Business.
I received a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota at Twin Cities. I currently serve as the Chairperson of the McCombs School’s Department of Marketing, and previously served as the director of the PhD Program in Marketing.
Research
Recent Publications
- Kraft, Andreas, and Raghunath Singh Rao (2025). “Equilibrium Effects of Inattention: Theory and Evidence from Left-Digit Bias.” Journal of Marketing Research, (Conditionally accepted).
- Can intermediaries skim inattentive buyers? If yes, how? Using millions of transactions, we show how car dealerships profit from “left-digit bias”.
- Li, Yue, Raghunath Singh Rao, and Paola Mallucci (2025), “Product Returns and Assortment Decisions: A Strategic Analysis of Online and Offline Competition.” Journal of Marketing Research 62(5), 895-917 [Web Appendix]
- Can firms use product assortment as a competitive tool when consumers can return their purchases?
- Kraft, Andreas, and Raghunath Singh Rao (2025), “Signaling Quality via Demand Lockout.” Quantitative Marketing & Economics 23(1), 1-44 [Web Appendix] [Video] (Lead Article)
- Would firms ever willingly forgo profitable demand? We analyze thousands of movie subtitles to answer this question.
- Liu, Zhuping, Qiang Gao, and Raghunath Singh Rao (2025), “Self-Donations and Charitable Contributions in Online Crowdfunding: An Empirical Analysis.” Journal of Marketing, 89(1), 117-134 [Web Appendix] [Discussion on a Radio Show]
- Should you donate to your own charitable project? When and why? We analyze millions of donations to provide some insights.
- Li, Xiaolin, Raghunath Singh Rao, Om Narasimhan, and Xing Gao (2022), “Stay Positive or Go Negative? Memory Imperfections and Messaging Strategy.” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 39(4), 1127-1149
- Should politicians be negative in their election messaging or stay positive? What if voters easily forget the message’s content? What do the competitive Senate races tell us?
- Should politicians be negative in their election messaging or stay positive? What if voters easily forget the message’s content? What do the competitive Senate races tell us?
- Rao, Raghunath Singh, Madhu Viswanathan, George John, and Sunil Kishore (2021). “Do Activity-Based Incentives Work? Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Intervention.” Journal of Marketing Research, 58(4), 686-704 [Web Appendix]
- Should salespeople be rewarded for their activities? When and why? We analyze a three-year-long intervention within a pharmaceutical firm.
- Should salespeople be rewarded for their activities? When and why? We analyze a three-year-long intervention within a pharmaceutical firm.
- Rao, Raghunath Singh, Julie Irwin, and Zhuping Liu (2020). “Flying with a Net, and Without: Preventative Devices and Self-Control.” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 37(3), 521-543
- Could a device intended to prevent the consequences of a vice backfire?
- Could a device intended to prevent the consequences of a vice backfire?
- Schaefer, Richard, Raghunath Singh Rao, and Vijay Mahajan (2018). “Marketing Self-Improvement Programs for Self-Signaling Consumers.” Marketing Science 37.6: 912-929
- Is there self-signaling during the use of a self-improvement product?
- Winner, Fordham Univ. dissertation proposal competition
- Is there self-signaling during the use of a self-improvement product?
- Zhang, Jianqiang, Zhuping Liu, and Raghunath Singh Rao (2018). “Flirting with the Enemy: Online Competitor Referral and Entry-Deterrence.” Quantitative Marketing and Economics, 16.2: 209-249
- When firms say, “You could buy this from my competition.” Are they being nice?
Show Earlier Publications
- Hedgcock, William, Raghunath Singh Rao, and Haipeng (Allan) Chen (2016). “Choosing to Choose: The Effects of Decoys and Prior Choice on Deferral.” Management Science, 62.10: 2952-2976 [Data and Programs]
- What can we learn from consumers “not choosing to choose”?
- What can we learn from consumers “not choosing to choose”?
- Rao, Raghunath Singh, and Richard Schaefer (2013). “Conspicuous Consumption and Dynamic Pricing.” Marketing Science, 32.5: 786-804 [Web Appendix]
- Why do status goods usually have high quality?
- Why do status goods usually have high quality?
- Kishore, Sunil, Raghunath Singh Rao, Om Narasimhan, and George John (2013). “Bonuses versus Commissions: A Field Study.” Journal of Marketing Research 50.3: 317-333. [Web Appendix]
- What works better: A lump-sum bonus or gradual commissions? A three-year-long intervention provides some nuanced answers.
- Winner, 2014 American Marketing Association’s (AMA) Sales SIG Excellence in Research Award for Best Paper on Sales Management
- What works better: A lump-sum bonus or gradual commissions? A three-year-long intervention provides some nuanced answers.
- Kim Jungkeun, Raghunath Singh Rao, Kyeongheui Kim, and Akshay R. Rao (2011). “More or Less: A Model and Empirical Evidence on Preferences for Under and Over-payment in Trade-in Transactions” Journal of Marketing Research 48.1: 157-171. [Web Appendix ]
- Are consumers affected by irrelevant differences in trade-in formats?
- Are consumers affected by irrelevant differences in trade-in formats?
- Saini, Ritesh, Raghunath Singh Rao, and Ashwani Monga (2010). “Is That Deal Worth My Time? The Interactive Effect of Relative and Referent Thinking on Willingness to Seek a Bargain.” Journal of Marketing 74.1: 34-48. [Web Appendix]
- Joint consideration of relative and referent thinking yields surprises.
- Joint consideration of relative and referent thinking yields surprises.
- Rao, Raghunath Singh, Om Narasimhan, and George John (2009). “Understanding the Role of Trade-Ins in Durable Goods Markets: Theory and Evidence.” Marketing Science 28.5: 950-967.
- Why do we see so many trade-ins? How do they affect markets? What do the US automobile transactions tell us?
- Rao, Raghunath Singh, Rajesh K. Chandy, and Jaideep C. Prabhu (2008). “The Fruits of Legitimacy: Why Some New Ventures Gain More from Innovation than Others.” Journal of Marketing 72.4: 58-75.
- Does the market reward firms for being “legitimate”? We provide some insights from the stock market returns of the US Biotech firms during new product introductions.
- Winner, 2018 AMA Entrepreneurial Marketing SIG Gerald E. Hills Best Paper Award
- Does the market reward firms for being “legitimate”? We provide some insights from the stock market returns of the US Biotech firms during new product introductions.
Recent Teaching
- Data Analytics and Dynamic Pricing
- Marketing Analytics
- Marketing Models- PhD [Syllabus]
I can be reached at raghunath dot rao at mccombs dot utexas dot edu.
Phd Students
- Andreas Kraft (Chair, First Placement: University of Chicago)
- Richard Schaefer (Chair, First Placement: Rutgers)
- Somdatta Basak (Chair, Ongoing)
- Yue Li, Univ. of Wisconsin (Economics) (Member, First Placement: Shandong Univ.)
- Mike Lan, UT (Marketing): Member, 2021-23
- Parshuram Hotkar, UT (Operations): Member, 2019 (First Placement: ISB)
- Nandini Ramani, UT (Marketing): Member, 2019 (First Placement: Texas A&M)
- Zhuping Liu, UT (Marketing): Member, 2017 (First Placement: Baruch College)
- Niket Jindal, UT (Marketing): Member, 2015 (First Placement: Indiana)
- Joon Ro, UT (Marketing): Member, 2014 (First placement: Tulane)
- Saim Kashmiri, UT (Marketing): Member, 2012 (First placement: Mississippi)
- Haoying Sun, UT (Operations): Member, 2011 (First placement: Texas A&M)
- Dae-Yong Ahn, UT (Marketing): Member, 2009 (First placement: UTS, Sydney)