Competitive price-cutting momentum and pricing reactions

In light of the increasing interest in understanding the behavioral side of competitive decision making, this paper examines how the price-cutting momentum (PCM) created by other competiors' reactions to an initiator's price cut influences pricing decisions. We explore the PCM construct and present the results of a study examining the effect of PCM on the price recommendations of retail grocery pricing executives. We find that PCM influences pricing reactions inboth low-search and high-search markets. Competing explanations of the results are considered.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Department of Sponsored Programs and Research at the University of South Carolina and the Crane Professorship at the Ohio State University.