A comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding consumers information search behavior is presented. Unlike previous research, our model not only identifies what factors affect consumers search behavior, but also how they interact with each other. In particular, it emphasizes the...

In this paper we study how performance requirements may improve the working of a distribution channel when the retailer is better informed about demand conditions than the manufacturer. The idea behind performance requirements is that the manufacturer and retailer agree to (1) have the...

This paper presents a price discrimination model of price promotions with consumer search. There are two types of consumers differing in their reservation prices, and the consumers with the higher reservation price incur costs in searching for promotions. We consider two variants of the model,...

This paper asks whether brand extension can serve as a signal of product quality given that it costs less than a new brand. (Existing literature has assumed either that brand extension is cost-neutral or that it costs more.) I show that it can as a perfect Bayesian equilibrium, but the argument...

Are price-matching guarantees anticompetitive? This paper examines the incentives for price-matching guarantees in markets where information about prices is costly. Under some conditions the conventional explanation of price-matching announcements as facilitating collusion finds support, and is...