Jehoshua Eliashberg

Jehoshua (Josh) Eliashberg is the Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing and Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also held visiting scholar positions at the Business Schools of The University of Chicago, Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand), Penn State University, INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France), Erasmus University (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), Singapore Management University, CarnegieMellon University, The University of British Columbia, UCLA, Time Inc., and at the Operations Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Professor Eliashberg received a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the TechnionIsrael Institute of Technology at Haifa, an M.B.A. from TelAviv University, and a doctoral degree in Decision Sciences and Marketing from Indiana University. He also received an Honorary Masters from the University of Pennsylvania.

Professor Eliashberg's research interests are in developing models and methodologies to solve business problems. His research has focused on various issues including new product development and feasibility analysis, marketing/manufacturing/R&D interface, and competitive strategies. He has particular interest in the media and entertainment, pharmaceutical, and the hitech industries. He has authored numerous articles appearing in major academic journals. His work in the entertainment industry has been the subject of articles appearing in BusinessWeek, The Christian Science Monitor, The Financial Post, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, Variety, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post.

He has coedited the books, Handbooks in Operations Research and Management Science: Marketing (with G. L. Lilien) and Managing Business Interfaces: Marketing, Engineering, and Manufacturing Perspectives (with Amiya K. Chakravarty). Professor Eliashberg has held various editorial positions in leading professional journals including: the Marketing Departmental Editor in Management Science, an Editorial Board member for Marketing Science, the European Journal of Operational Research, Marketing Letter, and Senior Editor for Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. He is currently the Series Editor of Springer’s International Series in Quantitative Marketing and the EditorinChief of Foundations and Trends in Marketing. He was elected a Fellow of the INFORMS Society for Marketing Science for his contributions to the field in June 2010 and was named a Fellow of The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences in November 2010. His other professional services have included membership on the advisory boards of the National Science Foundation, the American Councils for International Education, and the academic liaison committee of the CMO Council.

Professor Eliashberg has been teaching the following courses at Wharton: Marketing Research; Models for Marketing Strategy; New Product Management; Design, Manufacturing, and Marketing Integration; and Analysis of the Media and Entertainment Industries. Prior to joining academia, he was employed for a number of years as an electronic engineer and marketing. He has participated extensively in various executive education programs. His executive education and consulting activities include AccentHealth, AstraZeneca, AT&T, Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Bell Atlantic, Campbell Soup, Cheil Communications, CTV Television Network (Canada), Domino’s Pizza, Franklin Mint, General Motors, Givaudan, HBO, IBM, Independence Blue Cross, Inmar, Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc., Johnson & Johnson, L G Electronics, Lucent Technologies, Multimedia Development Corp. (Malaysia), Pathe Cinema (Holland), Philip Morris, The Siam Cement Group (Thailand), Sirius Satellite Radio, Warner Home Video, Weave Innovations Inc., Woodside Travel Trust, and Wyeth/Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

Grant Packard, Anocha Aribarg, Jehoshua Eliashberg, Natasha Foutz (2016), The Role of Network Embeddeness in Film Success , International Journal of Research in Marketing, 33 (2), pp. 328342.

Jehoshua Eliashberg, Thorsten HennigThurau, Charles B. Weinberg, Berend Wierenga (2016), Of Video Games, Music, Movies, and Celebrities , International Journal of Research in Marketing, 33 (2), pp. 241245.

Jehoshua Eliashberg, Sam Hui, Z. John Zhang (2014), Assessing Box Office Performance Using Movie Scripts: A Kernelbased Approach , IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, 26 (11), pp. 26392648.

Delphine Manceau, Jehoshua Eliashberg, Vithala R. Rao, Meng Su (2014), A Diffusion Model for Preannonced Products , Customer Needs and Solutions, 1 (1), pp. 7789.

Min Ding, Songting Dong, Jehoshua Eliashberg, Arun Gopalakrishnan, Portfolio Management in New Drug Development (2014)

Mark A.A.M. Leenders and Jehoshua Eliashberg (2011), The Antecedents and Consequences of Restrictive AgeBased Ratings in the Global Motion Picture Industry , International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol 28, Issue 4, December 2011, pp. 367377.

Abstract: This article analyzes one key characteristic shared by a growing number of industries. Specifically, their products and services are continuously monitored and evaluated by local thirdparty ratings systems. In this study, we focus on understanding the local drivers of restrictive agebased ratings in the motion picture industry and the effect of local ratings on a movie's performance at the box office. The results show that there is a significant negative relationship between restrictive ratings and opening weekend boxoffice performance. However, we find no significant effect with respect to cumulative boxoffice performance. In the second part of the study, we focus on the local regulatory system's role as a key driver of restrictive agebased ratings in the motion picture industry. Interestingly, the results suggest that the composition of the board that rates the movie plays a key role. Including pediatrics, psychology, or sociology experts in the evaluation board instead of only parents or laypeople has a strong effect and tends to lead to more lenient rating behavior. In addition, we find that larger ratings boards tend to be more restrictive than smaller ones and that industry representation is not necessarily associated with less restrictive ratings. Countries with cultures characterized as uncertainty avoidant, collective, and feminine also seem to be most lenient in their ratings. The implications of the results are discussed from both international marketing and public policy perspectives.

Ralf van der Lans, Gerrit van Bruggen, Jehoshua Eliashberg, Berend Wierenga (2010), A Viral Branching Model for Predicting the Spread of Electronic Word of Mouth , Marketing Science, Vol. 29, No.. 2, MarchApril, pp. 348365.

Abstract: In a viral marketing campaign, an organization develops a marketing message and encourages customers to forward this message to their contacts. Despite its increasing popularity, there are no models yet that help marketers to predict how many customers a viral marketing campaign will reach and how marketers can influence this process through marketing activities. This paper develops such a model using the theory of branching processes. The proposed viral branching model allows customers to participate in a viral marketing campaign by (1) opening a seeding email from the organization, (2) opening a viral email from a friend, and (3) responding to other marketing activities such as banners and offline advertising. The model parameters are estimated using individuallevel data that become available in large quantities in the early stages of viral marketing campaigns. The viral branching model is applied to an actual viral marketing campaign in which over 200,000 customers participated during a sixweek period. The results show that the model quickly predicts the actual reach of the campaign. In addition, the model proves to be a valuable tool to evaluate alternative whatif scenarios.

George Knox and Jehoshua Eliashberg (2009), The Consumer’s Rent vs. Buy Decision in the Rentailer , International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 26, pp. 125135.

Abstract: In this paper, we focus on the perspective and business model of the rentailer — a retail outlet that rents and sells new and used home video titles. This requires predicting the consumer's decision to rent or buy a particular title, segmenting its customer base, and pricing new and used titles. We develop a new model based on a simple heuristic found in the behavioral marketing literature of how people predict their own usage of a service. We estimate the model using a unique panel dataset obtained from a large rentailer, and find it provides a good fit to the data. Using the model estimates we obtain a metric indicating a latent customer tendency to buy at full price (compared to buying at a lower price or renting). Other diagnostic information from the model may help convert renters into buyers. First, expected viewing may be pitched to the consumer in order to persuade consumers that the movie will be well utilized. Secondly, we use the model to generate customized new and used title prices.

Jehoshua Eliashberg, Quintus Hegie, Jason Ho, Dennis Huisman, Steven J. Miller, Sanjeev Swami, Charles B. Weinberg, Berend Wierenga (2009), DemandDriven Scheduling of Movies in a Multiplex , International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 26, pp. 7588.

Abstract: This paper is about a marketing decision support system in the movie industry. The decision support system of interest is a model that generates weekly movie schedules in a multiplex movie theater. A movie schedule specifies, for each day of the week, on which screen(s) different movies will be played, and at which time(s). The model integrates elements from marketing (the generation of demand figures) with approaches from operations research (the optimization procedure). Therefore, it consists of two parts: (i) conditional forecasts of the number of visitors per show for any possible starting time, and (ii) a scheduling procedure that quickly finds a near optimal schedule (which can be demonstrated to be close to the optimal schedule). To generate this schedule, we formulate the “movie scheduling problem” as a generalized set partitioning problem. The latter is solved with an algorithm based on column generation techniques. We tested the combined demand forecasting/schedule optimization procedure in a multiplex in Amsterdam, generating movie schedules for fourteen weeks. The proposed model not only makes movie scheduling easier and less time consuming, but also generates schedules that attract more visitors than current “intuitionbased” schedules.

Jehoshua Eliashberg, Sanjeev Swami, Charles B. Weinberg, Berend Wierenga (2009), Evolutionary Approach to the Development of Decision Support Systems in the Movie Industry , Decision Support Systems, Vol. 47, pp. 112.

Abstract: This paper reports the development and implementation of a decision support system in a nontraditional domain — the motion picture industry. The approach reported here is evolutionary, and the model was designed to assist exhibition executives in movie scheduling. After an earlier successful collaboration in scheduling a single theater with multiple screens, we now turn to the multitheater multi screens situation, describing the problems encountered in that situation and how we have dealt with them. Using a quasiexperimental design, the decision support system was estimated to improve the net margin by over US $ 900,000 on an annual basis. The paper describes the implementation process and the performance evaluation metrics that had been agreed upon with the management.

Past Courses

MKTG212 DATA & ANLZ FOR MKTG DEC

Firms have access to detailed data of customers and past marketing actions. Such data may include instore and online customer transactions, customer surveys as well as prices and advertising. Using realworld applications from various industries, the goal of the course is to familiarize students with several types of managerial problems as well as data sources and techniques, commonly employed in making effective marketing decisions. The course would involve formulating critical managerial problems, developing relevant hypotheses, analyzing data and, most importantly, drawing inferences and telling convincing narratives, with a view of yielding actionable results.

MKTG271 MODELS FOR MKTG STRATEGY

In today's business environment, marketing executives are involved in complex decisionmaking and they become responsible for return on their marketing investments. The first objective of this course is to help participants become better executives. By exposing students to various analytical and computerbased tools, developed for solving marketing problems, it will help to prepare them for careers in industries such as consumer packaged goods, hitech, financial services, media and entertainment, pharmaceutical, consulting, and venture capital. ,The course's main focus is on various existing models, such as models that predict the consumer's dynamic adoption of an innovative product. However, at some point in their career, students may find themselves facing business problems for which a model can assist in making decisions, but no existing model is available. Hence, the second objective of the course is to provide participants with critical skills necessary to evaluate new models to which they may be exposed by attending presentations or reading the literature. The models to be discussed in the class have been implemented and proven useful in a wide range of industries (e.g., businesstoconsumers and businesstobusiness). ,The course is not only about models, however. It also covers modeling needs. Some industries such as the media and entertainment or the pharmaceutical industries present unique problems and modeling needs. The third objective of the course is to expose participants to the nature and essence of such idiosyncratic problems as well as modeling needs in such industries. Overall, the course will make participants understand better critical marketing problems by analyzing them rigorously and will enhance their skills in either designing or evaluating modelsbased strategies.

MKTG399 INDEPENDENT STUDY

MKTG712 DATA & ANLZ FOR MKTG DEC

Firms have access to detailed data of customers and past marketing actions. Such data may include instore and online customer transactions, customer surveys as well as prices and advertising. Using realworld applications from various industries, the goal of the course is to familiarize students with several types of managerial problems as well as data sources and techniques, commonly employed in making effective marketing decisions. The course would involve formulating critical managerial problems, developing relevant hypotheses, analyzing data and, most importantly, drawing inferences and telling convincing narratives, with a view of yielding actionable results.

MKTG771 MODELS FOR MKTG STRATEGY

In today's business environment, marketing executives are involved in complex decisionmaking and they become responsible for return on their marketing investments. The first objective of this course is to help participants become better executives. By exposing students to various analytical and computerbased tools, developed for solving marketing problems, it will help to prepare them for careers in industries such as consumer packaged goods, hitech, financial services, media and entertainment, pharmaceutical, consulting, and venture capital. The course's main focus is on various existing models, such as models that predict the consumer's dynamic adoption of an innovative product. However, at some point in their career, students may find themselves facing business problems for which a model can assist in making decisions, but no existing model is available. Hence, the second objective of the course is to provide participants with critical skills necessary to evaluate new models to which they may be exposed by attending presentations or reading the literature. The models to be discussed in the class have been implemented and proven useful in a wide range of industries (e.g., businesstoconsumers and businesstobusiness). ,The course is not only about models, however. It also covers modeling needs. Some industries such as the media and entertainment or the pharmaceutical industries present unique problems and modeling needs. The third objective of the course is to expose participants to the nature and essence of such idiosyncratic problems as well as modeling needs in such industries. Overall, the course will make participants understand better critical marketing problems by analyzing them rigorously and will enhance their skills in either designing or evaluating modelsbased strategies.

MKTG890 ADVANCED STUDY PROJECT

The principal objectives of this course are to provide opportunities for undertaking an indepth study of a marketing problem and to develop the students' skills in evaluating research and designing marketing strategies for a variety of management situations. Selected projects can touch on any aspect of marketing as long as this entails the elements of problem structuring, data collection, data analysis, and report preparation. The course entails a considerable amount of independent work. (Strict librarytype research is not appropriate) Class sessions are used to monitor progress on the project and provide suggestions for the research design and data analysis. The last portion of the course often includes an oral presentation by each group to the rest of the class and project sponsors. Along with marketing, the projects integrate other elements of management such as finance, production, research and development, and human resources.

MKTG899 INDEPENDENT STUDY

A student contemplating an independent study project must first find a faculty member who agrees to supervise and approve the student's written proposal as an independent study (MKTG 899). If a student wishes the proposed work to be used to meet the ASP requirement, he/she should then submit the approved proposal to the MBA adviser who will determine if it is an appropriate substitute. Such substitutions will only be approved prior to the beginning of the semester.

MKTG995 DISSERTATION

MKTG999 INDEPENDENT STUDY

Requires written permission of instructor and the department graduate adviser.

Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, 2010 Fellow of the INFORMS Society for Marketing Science, 2010 Inaugural Winner of the Carol and Bruce Mallen Prize, 1999 Description

For Published Scholarly Contributions to Motion Picture Industry Studies

The Lauder Institute Award of Honorable Mention, 1989 Description

For the Research Paper that Best Advances the Theory and Practice of International Management Science

Northwestern University, Xerox Research Professor, 1982 Description

19811982

Turmoil in the corner office, Los Angeles Times 01/18/2017 Perils of declaring your next revolution, FT 07/30/2012 Applying Academic Formulae to Scripts, NPR 08/17/2010 Americans are seeing fewer and fewer foreign films, The Philadelphia Inquirer 05/09/2010 Josh discusses his research, FastForward 04/21/2010 Rodar ‘Avatar’ Fue Una Decisión Muy Arriesgada, El Mundo 03/07/2010 Crunching the Numbers, New York Times 01/20/2010 Crunching the Numbers, Part 2, New York Times 01/20/2010 The Best of Times for Hollywood, Philadelphia Inquirer 07/21/2009 Something for the Weekend, Financial Times 05/15/2009 The Year’s Superstar Flops, Forbes 12/09/2008 The RelianceSpielberg Deal: Anil Ambani’s Next Blockbuster?, India Knowledge@Wharton 10/02/2008 Indiana Jones and the inescapable ads, Chicago Tribune 05/10/2008 Grand Theft Auto CarJacks Pop Culture, Philadelphia Inquirer 05/08/2008 Milking the Bible for Laughs, Los Angeles Times 12/26/2007 Can College Professors Help Exhibitors Book Movies?, BoxOffice.com 08/01/2007 Can Computers Pick Better Movie Scripts?, Forbes 12/04/2006 ‘Revenge of the Nerds,’ Part V: Can Computer Models Help Select Better Movie Scripts?, Knowledge@Wharton 11/29/2006 Funny Money, New York Times 11/12/2006 What’s Next for Netflix?, Knowledge@Wharton 11/01/2006 Snyder Adds New Star to His Lineup: Cruise, The Washington Post 08/29/2006 A Big Star May Not a Profitable Movie Make, The New York Times 08/28/2006 Meet Hollywood’s Latest Genius, Los Angeles Times 07/02/2006 Rent or Buy that DVD?, Newsweek 03/20/2006 Hey! Big Spender, Screen International 12/16/2005 Brand Rehab: How Companies Can Restore a Tarnished Image, Knowledge@Wharton 09/21/2005 Description

Following a corporate scandal, managers who acknowledge they have problems and launch communication programs to repair their tarnished reputations stand the best chance of rehabilitating a tainted brand or corporate image, according to Wharton faculty and branding consultants.

Pixar’s Future Plans Could Include Disney, MacNewsWorld 05/25/2004 Description

“Pixar isn’t like Disney; they don’t do things the same way,” Mar Elepano, production supervisor of the division of animation and digital arts at USC’s School of CinemaTelevision, told MacNewsWorld. “At Disney, there’s the problem of too many cooks in the kitchen.” But Elepano pointed out that Disney has one thing Pixar needs — an “incredible distribution mechanism.”

5 pensions to withhold Eisner votes, Hollywood Reporter 02/27/2004 Description

Adding more fuel to the drive to oust Michael Eisner as chairman of the board of the Walt Disney Co., five more state pension funds plan to withhold their votes for Eisner at Disney’s shareholders meeting.

PeertoPeer Music Trading: Good Publicity or Bad Precedent?, Knowledge@Wharton 10/09/2002 Description

Advance publicity is key to record albums’ success, states Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader “and by trying to stamp out peertopeer music trading, record companies are shooting themselves in the foot.”

American Beat: See You at the Movies, Newsweek 06/25/2001 Professors’ Model Outperforms Movie Screen Exhibitors at Box Office, Informs Online 01/04/2000 A Critical Problem for Movie Marketers, Financial Times 11/02/1998 More B.O. Oracles Take Up Trackin’, Variety 10/25/1998 Maybe Nobody Does Read the Reviews, Business Week 11/24/1997 Description

Who cares what Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert think? An old Hollywood saw is that movie critics are out of sync with the ticketbuying public. Consider L. A. Confidential, a police drama set in the 1950’s starring Kim Basinger and Kevin Spacey. All the reviewers’ talk about Oscarlevel performances and fourstar quality didn’t matter at the box office, where the film noir has thus far bagged a soso $33 million.

On Film Critics, The Wall Street Journal 11/13/1997 A Parsimonious Model for Forecasting Gross BoxOffice Revenues of Motion Pictures, Knowledge@Wharton 02/01/1996 The Foolproof Film Forecast Formula?, The Washington Post 06/12/1994 Description

Wondering what movies to see this summer? Worried you will not receive your full $7.50 worth of shadowy sex, highgloss pyrotechnics and spilled viscera?

New PreLaunch Test Calculates a Movies BoxOffice Success, The Christian Science Monitor 11/05/1993 Description

The secret to Hollywood’s blockbuster box office sales so far in 1993. is simple: The movies are good.

Knowledge @ Wharton

Why Millennials and China Are Key to Comcast’s DreamWorks Deal, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/04/2016 Star Wars: How Disney Awakened Its Marketing Force, Knowledge @ Wharton 12/23/2015 Curtain Up in China: Broadway Gives Its Regards to Beijing, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/06/2014 In the Global Movie Business, China Aims for a Starring Role, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/29/2013 On Wall Street, Netflix Is a Comeback Kid — But Can It Stay on Top?, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/05/2013 As Crowdfunding Grows, the Rewards Increase — but So Do the Risks, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/08/2013 Box Office Blues, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/05/2012 What Can We Learn from Netflix?, Knowledge @ Wharton 08/07/2012 NBC’s Olympic Tape Delays: #Failing All the Way to the Top?, Knowledge @ Wharton 08/03/2012 The Customer Lifetime Value Equation: Will It Pay Off for Tech Companies?, Knowledge @ Wharton 12/07/2011 Risky Business Becomes Riskier: A New Playbook for How Artists Are Compensated, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/16/2011 Cures for an Industry Crisis: Big Pharma Scrambles to Find New Ways to Develop Drugs Faster, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/10/2011 For AT&T, Is There Life after the Verizon iPhone?, Knowledge @ Wharton 01/19/2011 Demographic Changes: A Catalyst for New Models in the Global Tourism Industry, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/14/2010 Betting on Future Movie Receipts: Beware the Hollywood Lemons, Knowledge @ Wharton 04/28/2010 Grab Your Goggles: Will 3D Be the Next Wave in Home Entertainment?, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/17/2010 Apple’s iPad: A Gadget Killer — or Just Another Gadget?, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/03/2010 Reel Time: The Incredible Shrinking Window for Movie Releases, Knowledge @ Wharton 11/24/2009 Can Lean Coexist with Innovation?, Knowledge @ Wharton 11/11/2009 Netflix: One Eye on the Present and Another on the Future, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/28/2009 The Disney/Marvel Marriage: Will They Live Happily Ever After?, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/16/2009 The iPhone in China: Will Apple Connect with the World’s Biggest Mobile Market?, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/16/2009 The Crowded, Caffeinated Soft Drink Sector: Who Will Bubble Up to the Top?, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/02/2009 Bing Gives Microsoft a Boost, but Can It Compete with Google?, Knowledge @ Wharton 08/05/2009 In a Recessionary Summer, Hollywood’s Fondness for the Familiar Only Grows, Knowledge @ Wharton 08/05/2009 How Casinos Can Find and Target Their Favorite Customers: The Biggest Losers, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/13/2009 Merging Pipelines, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/09/2009 3D Movies: Adding Depth or Falling Flat?, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/01/2008 New Products (Like the iPhone): Announce Early or Go for the Surprise Rollout?, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/13/2007 Anime: Japan’s ‘Gross National Cool’, Knowledge @ Wharton 11/29/2006 Bluray vs. HDDVD: Knocking Each Other Out?, Knowledge @ Wharton 11/15/2006 If You Were in Charge, How Would You Market These Products?, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/31/2006 The Homevideo Market: Who Rents, Who Buys and Why, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/08/2006 Comcast vs. Disney: Facts and Fantasia, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/10/2004 Is Nemo Ready to Swim with the Sharks?, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/25/2004 Has the Kingdom of Disney Lost its Magic?, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/11/2002 The Megamedia Business Model: Doomed to Fail, or Just Ahead of its Time?, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/31/2002 Challenges Ahead for Vivendi’s New CEO, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/31/2002 Marketing Science Meets Hollywood, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/19/2001 A Model to Manage Movie Screens, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/23/1999