We might like to think we're not influenced by other people, but a new study int
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We might like to think we're not influencedby other people, but a new study into the group-buying mechanisms（机制） - like those used on coupon（优惠券） sites such as Groupon andLivingSocial - reveals that telling buyers who come later to the offer how manyhave already signed up increases the number of purchasers.
Researchers at the University of Toronto'sRotman School of Management wanted to understand why group buying sites thathave entered the market recently have enjoyed greater success than thoseoperating a decade ago, such as Mercata and MobShop.
Earlier attempts typically left potentialbuyers waiting for days before confirming whether or not they had got the offerthey had signed up for.
“We think one of the reasons group-buyinghas been successful recently is because of the short time horizon,” says RotmanProfessor Ming Hu, who co-wrote the study with Professor Mengze Shi and PhDstudent Jiahua Wu. “It allows for a herding effect.”
Another reason is the use of an informationstructure that discloses to later arrivals how many have already signed ontothe deal.
Researchers looked at two ways of designingthe purchasing mechanism for a group buy:a simultaneous mechanism, where no oneknows how many buyers have come before them, and asequential（连续的） mechanism, where a secondgroup of buyers has the advantage of knowing the size of the first group.
The researchers' analytical（分析的） model shows the mostsuccessful mechanism is the sequential one because it eliminatesuncertainty for those coming later to the deal, and improves the confidence ofthose who sign on early, as they're able to track the numbers of those who comeafter them.
“That boosts confidence,” says ProfessorHu, who teaches operations management. Deals for "luxury" services,versus everyday items, work better in a group buy scenario（方案） because they offerconsumers a greater benefit.
1.It can be learned from the text that______.
| A．the short time horizon is the reason why group-buying has been successful. |
| B．a simultaneous mechanism is where a group of buyers has the advantage of knowing how many people have signed up. |
| C．a sequential mechanism allows a herding effect which boosts the confidence of the buyers. |
| D．researchers at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management carried out an experiment about why group buying sites entered the market successfully, such as Mercata and MobShop. |
2.The underlined word “eliminates” inparagraph 7 probably means“______”.
| A．to become or to make something greater in amount, number, value |
| B．to remove or get rid of something |
| C．to deliberately not include something in what you are doing or considering |
| D．to make something known to somebody |
3.What can be the best title for thepassage?
| A．Secret for marketing success – boosting confidence. |
| B．Secret for group-buying mechanism—herding effect. |
| C．Comparison between a simultaneous mechanism and a sequential mechanism. |
| D．What others do influences our decisions. |
试题答案
【答案】
1.C
2.B
3.B
【解析】本文讲述了“羊群效应”促进团购的原因。
1.推理判断题。根据文章的第四段It allows for a herding effect.以及文章第七、八段，可知，最大的成功机制是连续的机制因为他消除了后面进行交易的顾客的不确定性，增强了顾客的自信。
2.猜测词义题。根据下文的boosts confidence可知是“消除”不确定性，故选B.
3.概括标题。本文分析了团购机制—羊群效应成功的秘密。故选B.