Smith School of Business, University of Maryland . His research lies at the intersection between information systems, economics, and policy. The focus of his work is the study of the rapidly growing online "word-of-mouth" communities and their impact on marketing, product development, and public opinion formation. He also studies the use of online reputation mechanisms as a low-cost trust building device in electronic markets. Before joining the Smith School, Dr. Dellarocas taught for eight years at MIT's Sloan School of Management. He has also worked as a consultant for Andersen (now Accenture) and McKinsey. He is an inventor with three patents and the co-founder of one software company. He received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wedad Elmaghraby