Problem definition: In this e-commerce age, majority manufacturers sell products through online channels in addition to retail channels. This leads to dual channel competition and channel conflict. One popular operation in practice to reduce channel conflict is through increasing channel...

We develop a game-theoretic model to explore why retail clusters are so popular in developing economies and when governments should facilitate the formation of retail clusters to improve social welfare. First, we find two determinants of retailer clusters: valuation-cost ratio (consumers'...

This paper studies the impact of consumers' social learning from the reviews of early adopters of a new product. We consider a two-period setting with an introduction (penetration) period followed by the product maturing period. Early buyers make purchase decisions in the introduction period...

Microtasking, or dividing a task into small chunks, is often suggested for self-improvement programs with delayed benefits that people find challenging to follow through. It is, however, unclear when microtasking can help, and if so, how to design the microtasks taking the pricing of the program...

In the mobile video games industry, in-app purchases are a major source of revenue. A common in-app purchase is for additional "moves" or "time" in puzzle games. We call these in-app purchases "bonus actions". In some games, bonus actions can only be purchased in advance of attempting a level of...

Microtransactions for functional items bring mixed results for game publishers. It is not clear why microtransactions are successful with FIFA 20 and Clash of Clans, but not with Star Wars Battle Front II. The effects of players' fairness concerns on a publisher's strategy are investigated. A...