David Godes

David Godes, PhD

Clyde F. and Ruth E. Williams Professor in Business
Academic AreaMarketing
Academic AreaEconomics
Areas of InterestWord of Mouth, Social Networks, Organization Economics, Digital Platforms, Competition

David Godes holds a Ph.D. and S.M. in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He was previously on the faculties of Harvard Business School and the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His teaching experiences include undergraduate, graduate and executive courses ranging from Introduction to Marketing to Brand Management to CRM Analytics and Business-to-Business Marketing.

Dave's academic research focuses on three areas: social interactions, organization economics, and platform economics. His work has appeared in top journals like Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science and Quantitative Marketing & Economics and he has authored numerous case studies on leading global firms like Federal Express, Avon Products, Terumo (Japan), SKF (Sweden), XM Satellite Radio, BMW, IBM, Hasbro, BzzAgent and Lincoln Financial. His research has been a finalist for, and winner of, numerous honors including twice being awarded the prestigious INFORMS Long-Term Impact Award. His research and opinions have been cited in a wide range of popular press outlets including The New York Times, Forbes, The Economist and The Boston Globe. He has consulted, advised and/or delivered executive education training to many firms, small and large, located in the U.S. and abroad.

Prior to returning to MIT to pursue doctoral studies, David started and ran his own market research and consulting firm which served a range of clients throughout the Northeast drawn from banking, mortgage lending, health care management and venture capital. Prior to that, he was a marketing manager in consumer banking.

Research

Selected publications

  • Godes, David, “Product Policy in Markets with Word-of-Mouth Communication,” Management Science, 2016, Vol. 63 (1), pp. 267-78
  • Wojnicki, Andrea and David Godes, “Signaling Success: Word of Mouth as Self Enhancement,” Customer Needs and Solutions, 2017, Vol. 4, pp. 68-82
  • Zhang, Yuchi and David Godes, “Learning from Online Social Ties,” Marketing Science, 2018, Vol. 37 (3), pp. 333-506
  • Phan, Tuan Q. and David Godes, “The Evolution of Influence through Endogenous Link Formation,” Marketing Science, 2018, Vol. 37 (2), pp. 177-331
  • “Extremity Bias in Online Reviews: The Role of Attrition” (with Leif Brandes and Dina Mayzlin), Journal of Marketing Research, 2022, Vol. 59 (4), pp. 675-95 (Lead Article)

Working papers

  • “The Impact of Reputation Systems on Peer Feedback in Social Media” (with Jinhee Huh and Seshadri Tirunallai)
  • “Joint, Sequential Production with Participation and Effort Choice” (with Niladri Syam)
  • “Polytomous IRT Models with Optimal Cut-Point Formation” (with Dennis Fok and Michel Wedel)
  • “Will the Truth Free Us from Misinformation?”

Honors and distinctions

  • 2000 Zenon S. and Clotilde Zannetos Prize for best MIT Sloan Ph.D. thesis
  • 2005 Marketing Science Institute Young Scholar
  • 2006 Finalist, Frank M. Bass Award
  • 2010 Finalist, John D.C. Little Award
  • 2010 Finalist, INFORMS Society for Marketing Science Long-Term Impact Award
  • 2011 Winner, INFORMS Society for Marketing Science Long-Term Impact Award
  • 2012 Finalist, John D.C. Little Award (different paper)
  • 2012 Winner, John D.C. Little Award
  • 2014 Finalist, INFORMS Society for Marketing Science Long-Term Impact Award
  • 2017 Winner, INFORMS Society for Marketing Science Long-Term Impact Award
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