Almost all results on competitive product positioning derived in the literature so far are based on the hypothesis that static Nash equilibria of profit-maximizing competitors are accurate predictors of final market configurations. If the positioning behavior of firms differs from this...

Conventional wisdom suggests that when firms face a negative externality like gray marketing (i.e., the selling of branded goods outside of the manufacturer's authorized channels), an effective strategy to reduce the negative impact is to centralize decision-making (Varian 1992). Nevertheless,...

The fully transparent system of fertilizer production and its distribution network will surely stop the black marketing, stencilling, diversion, smuggling and misappropriation of subsidy by fertilizer manufacturers or importers and the dealers. Streamlining the fertilizer distribution network...

If producers have more information than consumers about goods’ attributes, then they may use non-price (rather than price) adjustment mechanisms and, consequently, the market may reach a new equilibrium even if prices don't change. We study a situation where producers adjust the quantity per...

Conventional wisdom, derived from standard economic theory, is that affirm should differentiate itself from its rivals to mitigate intense price competition. Yet there are many examples of firms positioning themselves to mimic their rivals. In this paper we examine the role of context-dependent...

A conceptual framework was developed that provides insight into the factors affecting the impact of these recommendations on producer pricing decisions. Data from 656 U.S. producers reveal that the perceived performance of the Market Advisory Services (MAS), the way in which MAS recommendations...

We report that the price of a 6.5 ounce Coke was 5 cents from 1886 until 1959. Thus, we are documenting a nominal price rigidity that lasted more than 70 years! The case of Coca-Cola is particularly interesting because during the 70-year period there were substantial changes in the soft drink...

In this paper, we argue that pricing is all about price changes, and that the costs of price changes are often simultaneously subtle and substantial. We discuss a framework to deal with the dynamics of changing prices. This framework incorporates customer interpretations of price changes, an...

This paper presents microeconomic evidence on US pricing dynamics immediately pre- and post-establishment of the Bretton Woods monetary regime. We track prices of 49 goods (1172 observations) in the 1938 through 1951 Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalogs. Over the full time period the average length...

Digital platforms use recommendations to facilitate the exchange between platform actors, such as trade between buyers and sellers. Platform actors expect, and legislators increasingly require that competition, including recommendations, are fair—especially for a market-dominating platform on...