Conducting Research with Quasi-Experiments: A Guide for Marketers

This paper provides a procedural guide for marketing academics interested in applying quasi-experimental methods. We outline the various types of econometric methods, lay out an etiquette, and describe a number of examples of related research by marketing scholars. We discuss three steps: identifying the research question, outlining the identification strategy, and understanding the mechanism. We detail a variety of possible identification strategies, including difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity, and instrumental variables. For each, we emphasize the importance of clearly communicating the identifying assumptions underlying the assertion of causality.