In a spatial model of both horizontal and vertical differentiation where an agent can occupy an interval rather than a point on the Hotelling line, one can examine the trade-off between depth (a narrow high quality position) and breadth (a wide low quality range). In particular, the extent of...

An upstream manufacturer can use minimum resale price maintenance (RPM) to exclude potential competitors. RPM lets the incumbent manufacturer transfer profits to retailers. If entry is accommodated, upstream competition leads to fierce down-stream competition and the breakdown of RPM. Hence, via...

In criminal organizations, diffusing information widely throughout the organization might lead to greater internal efficiency (in particular, since these organizations are self-sustaining, through facilitating cooperation). However, this may come at a cost of leaving the organization more...

Goods and services vary along a number of dimensions independently. Customers can choose to acquire information on the quality of some dimensions and not others. Their choices affect firms' incentives to invest in quality and so lead to indirect externalities in consumers' choices. We illustrate...

We consider the impact of recruitment and training policies for the incentives of agents with career concerns. Training can be targeted, that is it has (or is chosen to have) more of an impact on particular types of agents and recruitment techniques can focus on finding superstars or weeding out...

Agents work for their own reputations when young but for their firms when old. An individual with an established reputation cannot credibly commit to exerting effort when working alone. However, by hiring and working with juniors of uncertain reputation, seniors will have incentives to exert...

The Internet has made consumer search much easier with consequences for competition, industry structure and product offerings. We explore these consequences in a rich but tractable model that allows for strategic design choices. We find a polarized market structure, where some firms choose...