Medicare reform plans advocate reducing the capitation levels or determining these endogenously as a function of the premium bids, for example, the lowest, the second-lowest or a weighted average of the bids. Based on a price competition model tailored toward this market, and actual 2010...

We analyze a periodic review stochastic inventory model with T periods and I items. At the beginning of each period, the inventory position of each item can be adjusted by placing an order or by salvaging some of the inventory. There is a limited capacity for the total inventory held at the end...

In many service industries, companies compete with each other on the basis of the waiting time their customers experience, along with other strategic instruments such as the price they charge for their service. The objective of this paper is to conduct an empirical study of an important industry...

We consider price competition models for oligopolistic markets, in which the consumer reacts to relative rather than absolute prices, where the relative price is defined as the difference between the absolute price and a given reference value. Such settings arise, for example, when the full...

In many service industries, companies compete with each other on the basis of the waiting time their customers' experience, along with the price they charge for their service. A firm's waiting time standard may either be defined in terms of the expected value or a given, for instance 95%,...

We develop a model for the competitive interactions in service industries where firms cater to multiple customer classes or market segments with the help of shared service facilities or processes, so as to exploit pooling benefits. Different customer classes typically have distinct sensitivities...

We analyze a general market for an industry of competing service facilities. Firms differentiate themselves by their price levels and the waiting time their customers' experience, as well as different attributes not determined directly through competition. Our model therefore assumes that the...