Nonlinear Pricing and Oligopoly

We consider the general problem of price discrimination with nonlinear pricing in an oligopoly setting where firms are spatially differentiated. We characterize the nature of optimal pricing schedules, which in turn depends importantly upon the type of private information the customer possesses–either horizontal uncertainty regarding brand preference or vertical uncertainty regarding quality preference. We show that as competition increases, the resulting quality distortions decrease, as well as price and quality dispersions. Additionally, we indicate conditions under which price discrimination may raise social welfare by increasing consumer surplus through encouraging greater entry.     

Behavior‐ and characteristic‐based price discrimination

We develop a model of behavior‐ and characteristic‐based discriminatory pricing where consumers are heterogeneous both in tastes and in price sensitivity. Each firm is able to distinguish between the consumers that have bought from it and those that have bought from the rival. Furthermore, each firm learns the price sensitivity of their own consumers. We show that using this additional information may yield higher profits than uniform pricing provided that consumers are heterogeneous enough with respect to price sensitivity. We also discuss consumer surplus implications of such behavior‐ and characteristic‐based price discrimination, and we show that the impact of price discrimination depends on both the consumer type and the level of consumers’ heterogeneity.     

What do Thirteen Million Price Records have to Say about Consumer Price Rigidity?*

Based on the analysis of 13 million price records underlying the computation of the French consumer price index, we provide a detailed assessment of consumer price rigidity. Our main results are as follows. The average duration of prices is around 8 months. Price durations and the patterns of price‐setting strongly differ across sectors. Price cuts are almost as frequent as increases, suggesting no specific downward nominal rigidity. Price changes typically have large absolute sizes. Time variation in the frequency of price changes and in their size both contribute to inflation fluctuations. Overall there is evidence of both time‐ and state‐dependent price‐setting.     

Equilibrium pricing and advertising strategies for nondurable experience products in a dynamic duopoly

The quality of many consumer nondurable goods or services is sufficiently complex or obscure that consumers cannot completely verify the true quality in a single usage. For such ‘experience’ products or services, the accumulated consumer consumption experience of a brand is an important determinant of its sales or market share. The market share of a brand is in turn directly influenced by its own and the competitive price and advertising strategies, given the different levels of quality (among other factors). In this paper, we investigate the impact of the aggregate consumption experience on the firm's dynamic pricing and advertising strategies by developing a formal game-theoretic model of a dynamic duopoly. The model of competition does not yield explicit closed-form expressions for the dynamic price and advertising paths of the two firms. Hence, we simulate the equilibrium paths using a discrete-time algorithm. Our simulation results provide interesting insights into the dynamic equilibrium price and advertising paths, under a variety of realistic competitive scenarios.     

虚拟品牌社群社会资本能影响消费者溢价购买行为吗？

重庆市委党校(重庆行政学院);中央党校(国家行政学院);摘要本文以虚拟品牌社群社会资本为研究对象,考察其与消费者溢价购买行为之间的关联性及其影响路径。构建了消费者溢价购买行为与虚拟品牌社群社会资本各维度的影响假设模型,并讨论了各维度之间的中介效应。研究发现:消费者信息价值感知通过社会资本各维度影响溢价购买行为,消费者社会价值感知通过结构性维度和认知性维度影响溢价购买行为,社会价值感知在关系性维度上对消费者溢价购买行为不具有显著影响。研究还发现了消费者对大宗耐用消费品与低价快速消费品在溢价购买行为中的差异规律。研究建议:大宗耐用消费品的企业需要在品牌社群运营中引导成员开展"体验性知识"的分享;企业在虚拟品牌社群运营中需要改善社会价值感知;企业应聚焦虚拟品牌社群的社会资本培育,获取溢价定价权,从而提升企业利润。     

基于多项Logit选择模型的在线渠道价格促销效应实证研究

在线渠道下,不同品牌的价格折扣促销的差异性会引起在线消费者品牌选择行为变化。同时,在线的价格比较机制也增加了消费者价格敏感度,如果不分离出这一重要的促销效应,那么会产生估计偏差,影响模型的预测能力。本文首先回顾品牌选择的离散模型中价格促销的研究脉络;然后构建在线渠道消费者品牌选择离散Logit模型;接着在对中国某电子商务公司的消费者实际购买可乐的面板数据分析的基础上,研究价格折扣对于该公司消费者品牌选择行为的影响效应,研究发现：（1）如果不引入价格折扣促销因素,将会过高估计价格的影响;（2）价格折扣促销对于消费者网上品牌选择有显著的影响,且影响为正效应。文章最后剖析价格折扣对在线渠道的消费者品牌选择的行为影响机理,并提出未来的研究方向。     

BRAND AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY: WHEN ARE HIGHLY DIFFERENTIATED PRODUCTS SUSTAINABLE IN THE REMOTE PERIPHERY?

This paper presents a general equilibrium model of new economic geography, incorporating brand agriculture that produces differentiated agricultural products. Focusing on the core‐periphery space, we show that highly differentiated brand agriculture can be sustained in the periphery even when access to the core market is not particularly good. This result supports the promotion of innovative products in rural areas in order to avoid direct price competition in generic commodities markets under unfavorable conditions.     

Multibrand pricing as a strategy for consumer search obfuscation in online markets

This paper argues that a firm with multiple brands can obfuscate consumer search by excluding the brands of other firms from a consumer's consideration set. This is examined empirically by regressing price data for a leading U.K. motor insurance price comparison site (or “shopbot”). It finds that multibrand firms own three‐quarters of brands in this market, and that allowing for other brand strategies, they post significantly lower and clustered prices relative to other firms. The firms also conceal their brand ownership, consistent with search obfuscation. The results are not otherwise explained and they have implications for market competitiveness.     

浅谈绍兴楼盘名称的语言文化分析

一个好的楼盘名称不仅能够反映该楼盘的一个市场定位而且还能展示房产公司的品牌形象,给置业者提供一种心理暗示。另外,楼盘名称通常与相应的地理位置相联系,在一段时间内还能折射出一个社会心理和时代文化的变迁。现以绍兴E网房产版提供的100个楼盘名为主体,其他楼盘名为参考,试从语言和文化角度对绍兴市近年来出现的楼盘名称进行简单的分析和考察。     

Horizontal Integration Between Brand and Generic Firms in the Pharmaceutical Industry

This paper asserts that brand pharmaceutical firms (those mostly involved in the invention and production of new drugs) engage in a set of complementary activities that are different from those of generic pharmaceutical firms (those that primarily make off-patent medicines). Complementarities of the Milgrom-Roberts variety within, but not across, these two kinds of firms make it more efficient for pharmaceutical firms to specialize in either brand or generic production. Using FDA data, I show that this is indeed the case. I then examine the firms that produce both types of drugs to see if there are market-level strategic synergies between brand and generic products. I find generic entrants that belong to a corporation that owns the brand in the market are (1) not more likely to enter, (2) not more likely to be approved faster, and (3) not more likely to deter other generics from entering. Thus the advantage, or synergy, from mixing brand and generic activities in one corporation must arise elsewhere in the operations of the firm. If not, the integrated pharmaceutical firm is not the most efficient organizational form for the production of ethical drugs.     

大型超市自有品牌购买意向影响因素研究

随着零售业竞争不断加剧,自有品牌战略成为零售业一个新的利润源泉。但实践显示,大型超市在不断推出自有品牌商品后,并没有带来意料之中的利润增长,消费者对自有品牌商品的认可度较低、满意度不高、购买意愿不强。由此,对影响自有品牌购买意向关键因素的识别显得十分重要。本文在已有研究成果基础上,围绕六个方面提出了研究假设,利用调查数据,运用SPSS统计分析软件进行了验证。研究结果表明,自有品牌的感知质量、感知风险、销售价格、促销力度、超市自身形象、消费者品牌偏好等因素与大型超市自有品牌购买意向呈正相关。     

Savings and retail price reform in a queue-rationed economy

The paper addresses the effect on consumer saving behavior of queue rationing and of price reform in a Soviet-type economy in a lifecycle framework with overlapping generations. It is shown that consumers save less for retirement in a queue-rationed exchange economy with black markets than they would in a free-market system with the same endowments. The expectation of price reform is thus likely to cause an increase in consumer savings. In addition, an analysis is given of the effect of the increase in controlled prices on the black market prices and on the prices of unrationed goods.     

Brand Capital and Entry Order

This paper develops the hypothesis that firms possess a stock of well-established brands, a stock termed brand capital. The firm with the greatest capital is able to introduce new products in response to new information about consumer tastes before rivals. The results using data from the ready-to-eat cereal industry not only support this hypothesis, but also distinguish brand capital from other sources of firm heterogeneity.     

The impact of corporate social responsibility associations on trust in organic products marketed by mainstream retailers: a study of Italian consumers

This paper investigates the determinants of consumer attitudes toward organic products marketed by mainstream retailers under a private label. Since organic products are credence goods, consumers cannot directly verify whether these products comply with official standards. Organic labels are the primary source of consumer trust in organics, but these labels must be noticed and understood before consumers will actively seek them out. In that some consumers may not prioritize product labels when they shop, it is sometimes up to retailers to strengthen consumer trust. Within the antecedents of this trust, we isolated the contribution of the corporate social responsibility associations held by consumers about retailers. We surveyed Italian customers interested in organics and found that they are more likely to trust the private‐label organic products sold by a retailer when it is considered socially responsible. Our results also show that consumer trust translates into brand loyalty and a willingness to pay a premium price for organic products. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Understanding consumers' purchase intentions toward natural‐claimed products: A qualitative research in personal care products

In recent years there is a trend of consuming natural products for a sustainable and healthier life. Therefore, firms began aligning their strategy with sustainability by communication strategies that they produce natural products, which are better for health as well as the environmental sustainability. However, sometimes these claims may be deceptive. The purpose of this paper is to understand the consumers' purchasing intentions toward products claiming naturalness in their advertising and packaging strategies. This research also examined greenwashing perceptions and their potential roles in purchasing intentions. In‐depth face‐to‐face interviews carried out with 20 Turkish women regarding personal care products (local brand and international brand). The findings of the interviews revealed eight themes (perceived greenwashing, perceived green image, price perception, environmental concern, green trust, skepticism, perceived risk, and purchase intention). This study contributes to predict a framework from consumer viewpoint for identifying the themes related to greenwashing.     

Does Advertising Overcome Brand Loyalty? Evidence from the Breakfast‐Cereals Market

In differentiated product markets where consumer preferences are characterized by brand loyalty, an important role for advertising may be to overcome brand loyalty by encouraging consumers to switch to less familiar brands. Using a scanner panel dataset of breakfast-cereal purchases, I find evidence consistent with the hypothesis that advertising counteracts the tendencies of brand loyalty toward repeat purchasing. Equivalently, advertising reduces switching costs in this market. Furthermore, counterfactual experiments demonstrate that in markets with brand loyalty, advertising is an attractive and effective option—relative to alternative promotional activities, such as price discounts—of stimulating demand for a brand .     

交易量适合作为股价波动信息的代理变量吗?——来自中国沪深股市的证据

本文利用中国沪深股市日交易数据,采用多元GARCH模型从信息传递的角度进行实证研究,结果表明:股价对交易量具有显著的波动溢出效应,但交易量对股价的波动溢出效应不明显。这种波动的单向溢出说明在应对信息的冲击上股价比交易量能更快地做出反应,其后才通过波动溢出在交易量上得到反映,股价波动对成交量波动具有先导作用。因此,从波动冲击传导和信息传递的角度看,单纯地将交易量视为股价变动信息的代理变量还缺乏稳健的统计证据。     

以品牌的核心价值为中心进行整合营销传播

品牌包含的信息具有多样性，消费者接触品牌的机会多种多样。同时消费者对品牌的了解来自他们接触到的各类信息的综合。这一切都在客观上要求企业运用多种传播方式将丰富的品牌信息准确、系统地传递给消费者，即企业对品牌要进行整合营销传播。     

The influence of cause marketing associations on product and cause brand value

• The purpose of the study presented in this paper is to add to our understanding of the added value, both monetary and non‐monetary, to a brand when supporting a cause in a cause marketing ad. The findings show that consumers do not perceive the brand to be worth more if it was shown to be supporting a cause. The study also failed to show a significant improvement in consumer brand attitudes for brands featured in cause marketing ads. However, there was an attitude improvement for the cause. Product type and consumer dispositional variables were also examined.
• In summary, this study calls into question the value brands derive from being paired with a cause. This study discusses productive areas of future research and managerial implications.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information provision and consumer search behavior for products with asymmetric uncertainty

When selling multiple products with asymmetric uncertainty, should the seller disclose product information so that customers do not have to incur any cost to resolve their uncertainties; if so, which product should the seller choose? To address these questions, we consider a monopolist selling two substitutable products to a group of consumers. Each consumer has asymmetric uncertainty regarding the two products. A total of four different information provision structures are considered based on whether the seller discloses information about each product with the aim of determining which strategy provides the seller with the greatest revenue. We derive several interesting results. First, the optimal information provision strategy depends on the magnitude of uncertainty in relation to the product with lower uncertainty. Specifically, if the uncertainty regarding the product with lower uncertainty is sufficiently small, it is optimal for the seller to provide information about the product with higher uncertainty, otherwise, the seller should provide information about both products. Second, when only one product's information should be revealed, it is optimal for the seller to choose the product with higher uncertainty and charge a higher price. Third, withholding information on both products is never optimal for the seller. Finally, our main model is extended by examining the Mean-Preserving Spread setting, and the robustness of our main results is confirmed. Furthermore, we examine the situation in which a monopolist sells a single product with two main attributes. We find that each of the four information provision strategies can be optimal under various scenarios.