In the k-prophet problem, a decision maker observes n items sequentially and selects up to k n items without recourse to maximize the total expected reward of the selected items. We consider a soft version of the problem where the decision maker can select up to k items in expectation rather...

We propose and study a threshold utility model (TUM) where consumers buy any product whose net utility exceeds a non-negative, product-specific threshold. The thresholds are selected to maximize the expected surplus of the representative consumer subject to a bound on the expected number of...

Frequent technological innovations and price declines adversely affect sales of extended warranties as product replacement upon failure becomes an increasingly attractive alternative. To increase sales and profitability, we propose offering flexible-duration extended warranties. These warranties...

Traditional one-price-for-all extended warranties do not differentiate customers according to their risk attitudes, usage rates or operating environment. These warranties are priced to cover the cost of high usage customers who experience more failures and are willing to pay a risk premium for...

We study firms that sell multiple substitutable products and customers whose purchase behavior follows a Nested Logit model, of which the Multinomial Logit model is a special case. Customers make purchasing decision sequentially under the Nested Logit model: they first select a nest of products...