Julia Otte, PhD

PhD in Management (Business Economics), Smith School of Business, Queen's University.

Assistant Professor (Adjunct), Smith School of Business, Queen's University

JD Student, Faculty of Law, Queen's University

Contact

Password to open CV: Julia2026




About me

Dr. Otte is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Business Economics at Smith School of Business, Queen's University.

She holds a PhD in Management (Business Economics) from Smith School of Business, where her doctoral research was supported by the Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS-D) and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

She teaches Principles of Economics for Business (COMM 171) and Managerial Economics (COMM 172) in the Commerce program, and she designed and taught the mathematics bootcamp for incoming MSc students. She previously served as a teaching assistant across the MBA, Master of Finance, and Commerce programs.

Her research applies microeconomic theory to online pricing strategies and labour markets. Her first research stream examines dynamic pricing in online retail: one project, published in the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, shows how firms can use product returns to segment customers and how this shapes pricing decisions over time. Dr. Otte also studies subscription box services, including how firms choose the variety and pricing of subscription boxes for variety-seeking customers. A second stream applies theoretical modelling to labour economics, examining how changes in the social climate affect identity disclosure and inclusion in the workplace.

Dynamic Pricing & Returns

Analyzing how online retailers use product returns for customer segmentation and to optimize dynamic pricing, including the strategic use of return fees.

Subscription Boxes & Curated Retail

Examining subscription box services and curated shopping, focusing on balancing product variety with pricing strategies.

Workplace Inclusion & Identity

Developing a theoretical model of workplace inclusion and identity disclosure dynamics, considering firm policies, organizational memory, and social climate.


Current Research & Publications

Product Returns, Customer Segmentation, and Dynamic Pricing

Co-authored with Dr. Konstantinos Serfes and Dr. Veikko Thiele

Journal of Economics & Management Strategy (2025), 34(4), 899-917.

This paper analyzes how retailers optimize pricing strategies based on customer return behavior in online retail markets.

Product Variety and Dynamic Pricing in Subscription Box Services

Co-authored with Dr. Veikko Thiele

Working Paper

Examines optimal product variety, learning mechanisms, and dynamic pricing strategies for subscription box services.

The Impact of Social Climate Changes on Identity Disclosure and Inclusion in the Workplace

Working Paper

Employees with concealable stigmatized identities (e.g., LGBTQ+ status, neurodivergence, invisible disabilities) choose how much to disclose at work, and firms decide how strongly to invest in inclusion programs. Both decisions are influenced by a shifting external social climate that neither party controls. I develop a two-period principal--agent model of this relationship. Identity disclosure cannot be fully retracted, as it persists in the organization's memory. I show that the firm may strategically provide high inclusion early on to incentivize disclosure, and then cut inclusion supports later. This allows the firm to extract surplus from the employee who is locked in by what is already known about her. Exploitation of this disclosure persistence can be optimal for the firm even in stable or improving social climates, when one would not expect disclosure irreversibility to matter. I also show that more organizational memory is not always worse for employees: the organization's memory can serve as an implicit commitment device, although the firm's preferred level of memory is always at least as high as the employee's.

Teaching

I truly enjoy teaching economics! I know economics courses can be challenging at times, but economic reasoning can really help with understanding how the world works. I provide plenty of practice opportunities, and try to bring in my own research and experience wherever I can.

Principles of Economics for Business (COMM 171)

Smith School of Business, Queen's University

Fall 2026

Managerial Economics (COMM 172)

Smith School of Business, Queen's University

Winter 2026, Spring/Summer 2026, Winter 2027

Mathematics Bootcamp Instructor

Smith School of Business, Queen's University

Instructor for Incoming MSc Students · 2025 & 2026