I earned a PhD in Management at The MIT Sloan School of Management, and an MBA and BA in Computer Science/Math at Boston University. I have previously held academic positions at The J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Babson College and Boston University. My initial research stream focused on new product development. As part of my dissertation research, I developed a computer-based multimedia shopping system for automobiles (in the late 1980's) and described the concept of information acceleration; one journal article based on this research, that describes an application for General Motors ' electric vehicle (EV1), won a "best paper" award from the Journal of Marketing (for most significant contribution to the practice of marketing).  E-commerce marketing is where I am now devoting most of my research energy. I have investigated the waiting time issue, and am currently exploring issues related to the autonet industry (i.e., automobile buying and selling on the Internet), and trust. 

The Internet Shopping 24/7 Project was partly an outgrowth of my autonet research, and my desire to immerse myself in and learn about the nature of e-shopping. Through CarsDirect.com, a company started by Bill Gross of idealab! and Scott Painter, consumers can shop for and buy a new automobile entirely online; the car can even be delivered directly to your door. Initially, I thought that this concept was crazy as it excludes visiting a dealer for the time honored traditions of tire kicking and test driving. Later, I realized that tire kicking in this day and age is absurd; and a five minute spin on a smooth surfaced highway doesn't really provide much value, and is nothing more than a part of a dealership's manipulative sales script. I reasoned that if visiting a dealership is unnecessary for a significant purchase like an automobile, then visiting a retail outlet may be unnecessary for lesser purchases; I shall see...