The prevalence of intermediaries (middlemen) in supply chains is often seen as a dying remnant of less efficient times. Despite predictions that supply chains will rapidly “cut out the middleman” as technological advances have eased logistics, middlemen have continued to thrive. In this...

We show that a manufacturer may prefer to offer a return policy when dealing with a retailer who holds advance knowledge about market conditions. Roughly stated, the manufacturer offers a liberal return allowance in lieu of a lower price to satisfy a retailer facing unfavorable market...

Many in the nonprofit sector view accounting-based performance measures to be overly influential and counterproductive in the evaluation of charities and their leaders. The contention is that such measures are imperfect and often biased, leading to dysfunctional rationing of fundraising and...