Person: AKÇURA, Münir Tolga
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Münir Tolga
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AKÇURA
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ArticlePublication Metadata only Noninfluentials and information dissemination in the microblogging community(Springer Nature, 2017) Akçura, Munir Tolga; Altinkemer, K.; Chen, H.; Business Administration; AKÇURA, Münir TolgaFirms are increasingly focusing on understanding and managing their social media strategies in order to create discussions and optimize the spread of news in their communities. Most prior studies on information dissemination have mainly focused on the roles of influentials but ignored the essential for noninfluentials. To fill this gap, this paper takes a holistic view of the information dissemination process and investigates how the participation of both influentials and noninfluentials plays a role in affecting the volume and sentiment of microblogs, which are precursors to raise awareness and attraction for brands. To test our hypotheses, we build a novel econometric model and apply it to a dataset collected from the popular microblogging site Twitter. We have the following main results: (1) back-and-forth-type discussions and retweets are effective in generating awareness and positive attractiveness; (2) influentials or mavens (who have many followers but seldom follow others) help generate initial sparks toward microblogging, but during the cascading periods, the noninfluentials play an important role in driving the conversations; and (3) new users who gradually join the discussions also help increase awareness, although they may not generate a positive sentiment. Our results provide important implications for mediating consumer interactions and firms’ marketing strategies.ArticlePublication Metadata only Data-driven manufacturer-retailer collaboration under competition(Taylor & Francis, 2019-03-16) Akçura, Munir Tolga; Business Administration; AKÇURA, Münir TolgaThis research employs game theoretic models to investigate how and when data-driven collaborations between manufacturers and retailers are beneficial. In the models, two symmetric retailers each offer two products from two different manufacturers. Each manufacturer may choose to collaborate with one or both retailers through data-driven initiatives in providing retail value to the consumers. The results show that the main incentive behind these collaborations arise from the efficient allocation of resources. Surprisingly, greater brand differentiation reduces profit margins and the incentive to collaborate. We also find that market leaders can endogenously arise through data-driven collaborations.ArticlePublication Metadata only Effects of multitier private labels on marketing national brands(Emerald Publishing Limited, 2019) Akçura, Munir Tolga; Sinapuelas, I. C.; Wang, H. M. D.; Business Administration; AKÇURA, Münir TolgaPurpose-This paper aims to understand empirically how shares of standard and premium private label (PL) products affect a retailer's marketing mix decisions toward national brands (NBs). Design/methodology/approach-Using a comprehensive store-level data set covering 52 categories and 130 stores of two retailer chains during 2003-2009, this paper examines how shares of standard and premium PLs affect retailer marketing strategies for NB retail prices, promotions and product assortments. The empirical analysis uses a simultaneous equations model estimated by the generalized method of moments approach and controls for endogeneity between PL shares and NB decisions and potential confounding variables including consumer, manufacturer and retailer factors. Findings-Standard PL shares are associated positively with NB retail prices and negatively with NB promotions and assortments. In contrast, premium PL shares are associated positively with NB retail prices, promotions and assortments. Research limitations/implications-The results indicate that retailers make strategic NB decisions through multitier PLs. Specifically, the evidence suggests that retailers use standard and premium PLs differently in promotion and assortment decisions toward NBs. NB manufacturers need to be cognizant of the increasing marketing power of retailers through their multitier PLs. Originality/value-Prior research has mainly focused on the role of PLs as a strategic weapon to gain power in the channel and its impact on NB pricing decisions in a single PL context. After accounting for potential confounding factors (retailer, consumer and manufacturer) and endogeneity, the authors find empirical evidence that retailers appear to leverage standard and premium PLs differently in some marketing mix decisions toward NB. In particular, the results reveal PL performance to be a determinant of retailer NB assortment decisions.ArticlePublication Metadata only Campaign participation prediction with deep learning(Elsevier, 2021-08) Ayvaz, Demet; Aydoğan, Reyhan; Akçura, Munir Tolga; Şensoy, Murat; Business Administration; Computer Science; AYDOĞAN, Reyhan; AKÇURA, Münir Tolga; ŞENSOY, Murat; Ayvaz, DemetIncreasingly, on-demand nature of customer interactions put pressure on companies to build real-time campaign management systems. Instead of having managers to decide on the campaign rules, such as, when, how and whom to offer, creating intelligent campaign management systems that can automate such decisions is essential. In addition, regulations or company policies usually restrict the number of accesses to the customers. Efficient learning of customer behaviour through dynamic campaign participation observations becomes a crucial feature that may ultimately define customer satisfaction and retention. This paper builds on the recent successes of deep learning techniques and proposes a classification model to predict customer responses for campaigns. Classic deep neural networks are good at learning hidden relations within data (i.e., patterns) but with limited capability for memorization. One solution to increase memorization is to use manually craft features, as in Wide & Deep networks, which are originally proposed for Google Play App. recommendations. We advocate using decision trees as an easier way of mining high-level relationships for enhancing Wide & Deep networks. Such an approach has the added benefit of beating manually created rules, which, most of the time, use incomplete data and have biases. A set of comprehensive experiments on campaign participation data from a leading GSM provider shows that automatically crafted features make a significant increase in the accuracy and outperform Deep and Wide & Deep models with manually crafted features.ArticlePublication Metadata only A strategic analysis of multi-channel expert services(Informa, 2017) Akçura, Munir Tolga; Ozdemir, Z. D.; Business Administration; AKÇURA, Münir TolgaUsing stylized models, we investigate when and how expert service providers should offer their services online, and whether they should charge separate prices for face-to-face and online services or provide the online service as a free supplement. Interestingly, consumer surplus can rise when a monopolist charges different prices for face-to-face and online services, and it may drop when the monopolist starts offering the online service as a free add-on to its face-to-face service. We find that a market-wide adoption of the online channel by competing experts in a duopoly setting intensifies price competition and thereby reduces overall profits. Furthermore, the rate of adoption is highest when the online service is moderately effective, whereas one of the experts refuses to offer the service when it is highly effective. These results provide theoretical support for the viability of online expert services as well as practical guidance on pricing strategies.ArticlePublication Metadata only Drug prescription behavior and decision support systems(Elsevier, 2014-01) Akçura, Munir Tolga; Ozdemir, Z. D.; Business Administration; AKÇURA, Münir TolgaAdverse drug events plague the outcomes of health care services. In this research, we propose a clinical learning model that incorporates the use of a decision support system (DSS) in drug prescriptions to improve physicians' decisions about the initial drug selection and administration. The model allows for both the analytical investigation of the effects of different DSS features on clinical learning and the estimation of the physician learning behavior given a panel data set. The analytical results suggest that using a DSS to improve physicians' prescription decisions would positively influence their clinical learning. Conversely, without improvements in successful drug selection, the use of a DSS would negatively affect clinical learning. The empirical results provide further evidence on the factors that drive physicians' responses to information sources and the extent to which they rely on clinical experience in prescribing drugs.ArticlePublication Metadata only Online intermediary as a channel for selling quality-differentiated services(Wiley, 2015-02) Akçura, Munir Tolga; Ozdemir, Z. D.; Rahman, M. S.; Business Administration; AKÇURA, Münir TolgaWhen deciding whether to utilize an online intermediary in addition to their own distribution channels, quality differentiated service providers face the trade-off between the benefit of extended reach and the threat of increased competition. Using an analytical framework, we analyze when and how service providers may utilize an online intermediary to their advantage in the presence of advance selling (i.e., selling a service at an early date for future consumption). In general, when an online intermediary is used, the competition effect dominates the reach effect and leads to a falling price trend. Interestingly, we find that the negative effect of increased competition on profits, due to intermediary usage, can be reversed by committing to self-imposed participation limits (i.e., selling only a predetermined amount of services through the online intermediary). This ensures that the service provider is better off selling through both its own site and the online intermediary, rather than selling exclusively using either channel.ArticlePublication Metadata only Expert competition and the internet(IJEC, 2013) Akçura, Munir Tolga; Ozdemir, Z. D.; Jain, S.; Business Administration; AKÇURA, Münir TolgaThe Internet has become a channel for experts offering their services. We investigate the optimal online channel adoption strategy of a high-quality expert with a brick-and-mortar presence in the face of potential entry by an expert with just an online presence. We find that the high-quality expert does not have the incentive to adopt the online channel unless new entry is imminent. If the incumbent high-quality expert cannot offer a sufficiently high-quality online service, the incumbent expert accommodates entry and provides only a face-to-face service. However, a satisfactory level of online quality allows the incumbent expert to deter entry and to limit what would otherwise be a more intense competition. This paper thus establishes an entry deterrence role for the adoption of the online channel in expert markets. In addition, the results partially explain the reasons behind the quick adoption of the online channel in tax preparation services and physicians’ reluctance to offer online consultations.ArticlePublication Metadata only How to make global cities: information communication technologies and macro-level variables(Elsevier, 2014-11) Akçura, Munir Tolga; Avcı, S. B.; Business Administration; AKÇURA, Münir Tolga; Avcı, S. B.Increasing in the ranks among the global cities is a top priority not only for the city officials but also for the central governments. With the prevalent use of the information and communication technologies (ICTs), local governments and cities strive to make the best use of the newly emerging technologies. Many cities aspire to create smart, connected and intelligent environments. Although companies such as IBM, CISCO, Siemens, and Ericsson are offering latest ICT products to cities, technology as a standalone entity cannot flourish without a close cooperation at the macro (country) level. In this paper, we identify the significant factors that contribute to creating global cities, and analyze where and how ICTs make an impact for each dimension of success. Overall, the results demonstrate the crucial roles ICTs play in achieving success. The findings also emphasize that cooperation between central and local government is imperative in order to form globally successful cities. Our findings have implications on governors, city and country level technology managers and macro-level government officials.ArticlePublication Open Access The strategic role of private labels on retail competition(Boğaziçi Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, 2012) Akçura, Munir Tolga; Bezawada, R.; Kalra, A.; Business Administration; AKÇURA, Münir TolgaWe investigate the strategic role of private labels in limiting retail competition. Private labels are unique differentiators for retailers. By launching and credibly committing to a strong private label program, a strong retailer can limit the market potential for competing retailers. Consequently, weaker retailers may not be able to meet threshold profits and exit the market. We derive the private label shares needed to induce exit. A model implication is that the private label share required to induce exit increases with increasing national brand margins. We also conduct an empirical analysis and find evidence supporting the propositions. Combining Dominick s store level data with Zip Code Business Patterns data, we find that at the zip code level, the private label share affects the number of stores competing in the market.