The price competition between two firms can affect their decisions about product availability. With occasional stockouts a firm loses from foregone sales, yet it may indirectly benefit from the higher price a competitor is able to charge. The more prone customers are to search elsewhere for the...

A phantom alternative is an illusory choice option---it looks real but for some reason is unavailable at the time a decision is made. Phantoms can both help and hinder successful decision making. On the one hand, phantoms can provide useful information on the boundaries of a decision problem and...