ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Bill Qualls, for his
valuable advice and support he has given me throughout my doctoral studies in marketing.
He introduced me to the field of marketing and encouraged me to take an
interdisciplinary perspective to investigate research issues by combining my background
in Information Systems and interests in Marketing. I am very grateful to my co-advisor,
Eric Fang, for his patience to work with me and insightful suggestions on my dissertation.
His productivity and work attitude motivate me to work hard and conduct high-quality
research. I want to thank Raj Echambadi and Ravi Gajendran for their detailed and
excellent comments on improving my dissertation.
I also want to express my thanks to Judith Gebauer, Mu Xia, and Ramanath
Subramanyam. Working with them as a research assistant built my different angles and
skills to examine research questions, which become the foundation of my dissertation.
Unspoken thanks go to my families. The love and support from my parents and
parents-in-law make me stronger. I wish them healthy and happy forever. Deepest thanks
to my husband, Liangliang Cao, who always stands by me and shares the upset and
happiness with me. He makes my life more wonderful.