Publications [#349608] of Ryan C. McDevitt

Journal Articles

1. McDevitt, RC, "A" business by any other name: Firm name choice as a signal of firm quality, Journal of Political Economy, vol. 122 no. 4 (January, 2014), pp. 909-944 [doi]
   (last updated on 2026/01/07)

   Abstract:
   This paper considers when a firm's deliberately chosen name can signal meaningful information. The average plumbing firm whose name begins with A or a number receives five times more service complaints than other firms and also charges higher prices. Relatedly, plumbers with A names advertise more in the Yellow Pages and on Google, and doing so is positively correlated with receiving complaints. As the use of A names is more prevalent in larger markets, I reconcile these findings with a simple model in which firms have different qualities and consumers have heterogeneous search costs. © 2014 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.