In many industries firms have to make quantity decisions before knowing the exact state of demand. In such cases, channel members have to decide which firm will own the units until demand uncertainty is resolved. The decision about who should retain ownership depends on the balance of benefit...

Conventional wisdom in marketing holds that retailer forward buying (1) is a consequence of manufacturer trade promotions and (2) stockpiling units helps the retailer but hurts the manufacturer. This paper provides a deeper understanding of forward buying by analyzing it within the context of...