Raghunath Singh Rao
Professor & Chair of Marketing · McCombs, UT Austin
Raghunath Singh Rao
Professor of Marketing, and Chair of the Department of Marketing
McCombs School of Business · The University of Texas at Austin
About
I am a Professor of Marketing at the McCombs School of Business, UT Austin, where I currently serve as Chair of the Department of Marketing. My research studies how market frictions shape marketing policies such as pricing and sales management.
My teaching spans graduate courses in pricing, marketing analytics, and research methods, and I am increasingly interested in the impact of artificial intelligence on marketing and business. I received my PhD from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and previously directed the McCombs PhD Program in Marketing.
Interests: market frictions · pricing strategy · sales-force management · behavioral economics · AI in marketing
Recent Publications
2025
Kraft, A., & Rao, R. S. “Market Effects of Inattention: Theory and Evidence from Left-Digit Bias.” Journal of Marketing Research (Forthcoming).
Can intermediaries skim inattentive buyers? Evidence from millions of car transactions.
2025
Li, Y., Rao, R. S., & Mallucci, P. “Product Returns and Assortment Decisions.” Journal of Marketing Research 62(5), 895–917.
Can firms use assortment as a competitive tool when consumers can return purchases?
2025
Kraft, A., & Rao, R. S. “Signaling Quality via Demand Lockout.” Quantitative Marketing & Economics 23(1), 1–44.
Lead Article
Would firms ever willingly forgo profitable demand? Evidence from thousands of movie subtitles.
2025
Liu, Z., Gao, Q., & Rao, R. S. “Self-Donations and Charitable Contributions in Online Crowdfunding.” Journal of Marketing 89(1), 117–134.
Should you donate to your own charitable project? Insights from millions of donations.
2022
Li, X., Rao, R. S., Narasimhan, O., & Gao, X. “Stay Positive or Go Negative? Memory Imperfections and Messaging Strategy.” International Journal of Research in Marketing 39(4), 1127–1149.
Should politicians go negative when voters easily forget the message’s content?
2021
Rao, R. S., Viswanathan, M., John, G., & Kishore, S. “Do Activity-Based Incentives Work? Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Intervention.” Journal of Marketing Research 58(4), 686–704.
Should salespeople be rewarded for their activities? A three-year field study.
2020
Rao, R. S., Irwin, J., & Liu, Z. “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 actually backfire?
Research
My work studies how market frictions — inattention, self-control, information asymmetry, product returns — shape pricing, assortment, and sales-management decisions. Each summary states the question in plain language.
Recent Publications
2025
Kraft, A., & Rao, R. S. “Market Effects of Inattention: Theory and Evidence from Left-Digit Bias.” Journal of Marketing Research (Forthcoming).
Can intermediaries skim inattentive buyers? Using millions of transactions, we show how dealerships profit from left-digit bias.
2025
Li, Y., Rao, R. S., & Mallucci, P. “Product Returns and Assortment Decisions: A Strategic Analysis of Online and Offline Competition.” Journal of Marketing Research 62(5), 895–917.
Can firms use product assortment as a competitive tool when consumers can return their purchases?
2025
Kraft, A., & Rao, R. S. “Signaling Quality via Demand Lockout.” Quantitative Marketing & Economics 23(1), 1–44.
★ Lead Article
Would firms ever willingly forgo profitable demand? We analyze thousands of movie subtitles.
2025
Liu, Z., Gao, Q., & Rao, R. S. “Self-Donations and Charitable Contributions in Online Crowdfunding.” Journal of Marketing 89(1), 117–134.
Should you donate to your own charitable project? Insights from millions of donations.
2022
Li, X., Rao, R. S., Narasimhan, O., & Gao, X. “Stay Positive or Go Negative? Memory Imperfections and Messaging Strategy.” International Journal of Research in Marketing 39(4), 1127–1149.
Should politicians go negative when voters easily forget the message’s content?
2021
Rao, R. S., Viswanathan, M., John, G., & Kishore, S. “Do Activity-Based Incentives Work? Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Intervention.” Journal of Marketing Research 58(4), 686–704.
Should salespeople be rewarded for their activities? A three-year field study.
2020
Rao, R. S., Irwin, J., & Liu, Z. “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 actually backfire?
2018
Schaefer, R., Rao, R. S., & Mahajan, V. “Marketing Self-Improvement Programs for Self-Signaling Consumers.” Marketing Science 37(6), 912–929.
★ Winner — Fordham dissertation proposal competition
Is there self-signaling during the use of a self-improvement product?
2018
Zhang, J., Liu, Z., & Rao, R. S. “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?
Earlier Publications
2016
Hedgcock, W., Rao, R. S., & Chen, H. “Choosing to Choose: The Effects of Decoys and Prior Choice on Deferral.” Management Science 62(10), 2952–2976.
What can we learn from consumers “not choosing to choose”?
2013
Rao, R. S., & Schaefer, R. “Conspicuous Consumption and Dynamic Pricing.” Marketing Science 32(5), 786–804.
Why do status goods usually have high quality?
2013
Kishore, S., Rao, R. S., Narasimhan, O., & John, G. “Bonuses versus Commissions: A Field Study.” Journal of Marketing Research 50(3), 317–333.
★ 2014 AMA Sales SIG — Best Paper on Sales Management
What works better: a lump-sum bonus or gradual commissions? A three-year intervention.
2011
Kim, J., Rao, R. S., Kim, K., & Rao, A. R. “More or Less: Preferences for Under- and Over-payment in Trade-in Transactions.” Journal of Marketing Research 48(1), 157–171.
Are consumers affected by irrelevant differences in trade-in formats?
2010
Saini, R., Rao, R. S., & Monga, A. “Is That Deal Worth My Time? Relative and Referent Thinking on Willingness to Seek a Bargain.” Journal of Marketing 74(1), 34–48.
Joint consideration of relative and referent thinking yields surprises.
2009
Rao, R. S., Narasimhan, O., & John, G. “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, and how do they affect markets?
2008
Rao, R. S., Chandy, R. K., & Prabhu, J. C. “The Fruits of Legitimacy: Why Some New Ventures Gain More from Innovation than Others.” Journal of Marketing 72(4), 58–75.
★ 2018 AMA Entrepreneurial Marketing SIG — Gerald E. Hills Best Paper
Does the market reward firms for being “legitimate”? Evidence from U.S. biotech firms.
Teaching
I teach graduate courses at the intersection of analytics, pricing, and research methods — helping students turn data and marketing theory into decisions.
Recent Courses
Data Analytics and Dynamic Pricing
Marketing Analytics
Marketing Models — PhD
PhD Students & Placement
Mentoring doctoral students is one of the most rewarding parts of my work. Below are students I have chaired or served alongside on committees, and their first placements.
| Student | Role | First Placement |
|---|---|---|
| Andreas Kraft | Chair | University of Chicago (Booth) |
| Richard Schaefer | Chair | Rutgers University |
| Somdatta Basak | Chair | Ongoing |
| Yue Li (Economics) | Member | Shandong University |
| Mike Lan (Marketing) | Member | — |
| Parshuram Hotkar (Operations) | Member | Indian School of Business |
| Nandini Ramani (Marketing) | Member | Texas A&M University |
| Zhuping Liu (Marketing) | Member | Baruch College, CUNY |
| Niket Jindal (Marketing) | Member | Indiana University |
| Joon Ro (Marketing) | Member | Tulane University |
| Saim Kashmiri (Marketing) | Member | University of Mississippi |
| Haoying Sun (Operations) | Member | Texas A&M University |
| Dae-Yong Ahn (Marketing) | Member | UTS, Sydney |
Prospective doctoral student? Learn about the McCombs PhD in Marketing →
Contact
I welcome inquiries from prospective PhD students, collaborators, and members of the press.
Department
Department of Marketing, McCombs School of Business
University
The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, TX
Curriculum Vitae
Online