[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/indorg/v27y2009i2p197-205.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Price dispersion in duopolies with heterogeneous consumers

Author

Listed:
  • Sinitsyn, Maxim
Abstract
In this paper, I modify Varian's [Varian, H.R. (1980). A model of sales, American Economic Review, 70(4), 651-659] model of sales to allow for heterogeneity in consumer preferences. I show that in mixed strategy equilibria each firm charges a finite number of prices. Using this characterization, I examine the effect of consumer heterogeneity on firms' optimal pricing strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Sinitsyn, Maxim, 2009. "Price dispersion in duopolies with heterogeneous consumers," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 197-205, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:27:y:2009:i:2:p:197-205
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167-7187(08)00084-2
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael R. Baye & John Morgan & Patrick Scholten, 2004. "Price Dispersion In The Small And In The Large: Evidence From An Internet Price Comparison Site," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 463-496, December.
    2. Carl Davidson & Raymond Deneckere, 1986. "Long-Run Competition in Capacity, Short-Run Competition in Price, and the Cournot Model," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(3), pages 404-415, Autumn.
    3. Sinitsyn, Maxim, 2008. "Characterization of the support of the mixed strategy price equilibria in oligopolies with heterogeneous consumers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 242-245, May.
    4. Michael D. Smith & Erik Brynjolfsson, 2001. "Consumer Decision-making at an Internet Shopbot: Brand Still Matters," NBER Chapters, in: E-commerce, pages 541-558, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Baye, Michael R. & Kovenock, Dan & de Vries, Casper G., 1992. "It takes two to tango: Equilibria in a model of sales," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 493-510, October.
    6. Rafael Rob, 1985. "Equilibrium Price Distributions," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(3), pages 487-504.
    7. Bester, Helmut, 1992. "Bertrand Equilibrium in a Differentiated Duopoly," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 33(2), pages 433-448, May.
    8. Varian, Hal R, 1980. "A Model of Sales," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(4), pages 651-659, September.
    9. Kocas, Cenk & Kiyak, Tunga, 2006. "Theory and evidence on pricing by asymmetric oligopolies," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 83-105, January.
    10. Jean-Pierre Dubé & Günter J. Hitsch & Peter E. Rossi & Maria Ana Vitorino, 2008. "Category Pricing with State-Dependent Utility," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 417-429, 05-06.
    11. Levitan, Richard & Shubik, Martin, 1972. "Price Duopoly and Capacity Constraints," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 13(1), pages 111-122, February.
    12. Canoy, Marcel, 1996. "Product Differentiation in a Bertrand-Edgeworth Duopoly," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 158-179, July.
    13. repec:bla:jindec:v:49:y:2001:i:4:p:541-58 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Shilony, Yuval, 1977. "Mixed pricing in oligopoly," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 373-388, April.
    15. Eric K. Clemons & Il-Horn Hann & Lorin M. Hitt, 2002. "Price Dispersion and Differentiation in Online Travel: An Empirical Investigation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(4), pages 534-549, April.
    16. Partha Dasgupta & Eric Maskin, 1986. "The Existence of Equilibrium in Discontinuous Economic Games, I: Theory," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 53(1), pages 1-26.
    17. Michael R. Baye & John Morgan, 2001. "Information Gatekeepers on the Internet and the Competitiveness of Homogeneous Product Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(3), pages 454-474, June.
    18. Osborne, Martin J. & Pitchik, Carolyn, 1986. "Price competition in a capacity-constrained duopoly," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 238-260, April.
    19. repec:bla:jemstr:v:4:y:1995:i:1:p:85-107:a is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Allen, Beth & Hellwig, Martin, 1993. "Bertrand-Edgeworth Duopoly with Proportional Residual Demand," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 34(1), pages 39-60, February.
    21. Narasimhan, Chakravarthi, 1988. "Competitive Promotional Strategies," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(4), pages 427-449, October.
    22. Alan T. Sorensen, 2000. "Equilibrium Price Dispersion in Retail Markets for Prescription Drugs," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(4), pages 833-862, August.
    23. Burdett, Kenneth & Judd, Kenneth L, 1983. "Equilibrium Price Dispersion," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 51(4), pages 955-969, July.
    24. Dana, James D, Jr, 1994. "Learning in an Equilibrium Search Model," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 35(3), pages 745-771, August.
    25. Villas-Boas, J Miguel, 1995. "Models of Competitive Price Promotions: Some Empirical Evidence from the Coffee and Saltine Crackers Markets," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(1), pages 85-107, Spring.
    26. Gal-or, Esther, 1982. "Hotelling's spatial competition as a model of sales," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 1-6.
    27. McAfee R. Preston, 1995. "Multiproduct Equilibrium Price Dispersion," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 83-105, October.
    28. Jean-Pascal Benassy, 1989. "Market Size and Substitutability in Imperfect Competition: A Bertrand-Edgeworth-Chamberlin Model," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 56(2), pages 217-234.
    29. David M. Kreps & Jose A. Scheinkman, 1983. "Quantity Precommitment and Bertrand Competition Yield Cournot Outcomes," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 14(2), pages 326-337, Autumn.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ofer H Azar, 2015. "A Linear City Model with Asymmetric Consumer Distribution," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-13, June.
    2. Hunold, Matthias & Muthers, Johannes, 2018. "Spatial Competition with Capacity Constraints and Subcontracting," DICE Discussion Papers 254, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), revised 2018.
    3. Matthias Hunold & Kai Hüschelrath & Ulrich Laitenberger & Johannes Muthers, 2020. "Competition, Collusion, and Spatial Sales Patterns: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(4), pages 737-779, December.
    4. Christian Oertel & Armin Schmutzler, 2022. "Challenging the incumbent: Entry in markets with captive consumers and taste heterogeneity," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 961-979, November.
    5. Maxim Sinitsyn, 2016. "Managing Price Promotions Within a Product Line," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(2), pages 304-318, March.
    6. Creane, Anthony & Manduchi, Agostino, 2022. "Informative advertising in monopolistically competitive markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Hunold, Matthias & Muthers, Johannes, 2019. "Spatial competition and price discrimination with capacity constraints," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Schultz, Christian, 2014. "Consumer poaching, brand switching, and price transparency," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 123(3), pages 266-269.
    9. Maxim Sinitsyn, 2017. "Pricing with Prescheduled Sales," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(6), pages 999-1014, November.
    10. Maxim Sinitsyn, 2012. "Coordination of Price Promotions in Complementary Categories," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(11), pages 2076-2094, November.
    11. Maxim Sinitsyn, 2020. "Evaluating horizontal mergers in the presence of price promotions," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 39-60, March.
    12. Mathur, Sameer & Sinitsyn, Maxim, 2013. "Price promotions in emerging markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 404-416.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sinitsyn, Maxim, 2008. "Characterization of the support of the mixed strategy price equilibria in oligopolies with heterogeneous consumers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 242-245, May.
    2. Michael R. Baye & John Morgan & Patrick Scholten, 2004. "Temporal Price Dispersion: Evidence from an Online Consumer Electronics Market," Working Papers 2004-04, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Department of Business Economics and Public Policy.
    3. Maarten C.W. Janssen & Jose Luis Moraga-Gonzalez & Matthijs R. Wildenbeest, 2004. "Consumer Search and Oligopolistic Pricing: An Empirical Investigation," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 04-071/1, Tinbergen Institute.
    4. Burdett, Ken & Smith, Eric, 2010. "Price distributions and competition," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 106(3), pages 180-183, March.
    5. Michael R. Baye & John Morgan & Patrick Scholten, 2004. "Price Dispersion In The Small And In The Large: Evidence From An Internet Price Comparison Site," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 463-496, December.
    6. Mathur, Sameer & Sinitsyn, Maxim, 2013. "Price promotions in emerging markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 404-416.
    7. Sneha Bakshi, 2020. "Limits of price competition: cost asymmetry and imperfect information," International Journal of Game Theory, Springer;Game Theory Society, vol. 49(4), pages 913-932, December.
    8. Michael R. Baye & John Morgan, 2009. "Brand and Price Advertising in Online Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(7), pages 1139-1151, July.
    9. David P. Myatt, 2019. "A Theory of Stable Price Dispersion," Economics Series Working Papers 873, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    10. Tasnádi, Attila, 2001. "A Bertrand-Edgeworth-oligopóliumok. Irodalmi áttekintés [Bertrand-Edgeworth oligopolies - a survey of the literature]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(12), pages 1081-1092.
    11. Belleflamme,Paul & Peitz,Martin, 2015. "Industrial Organization," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107687899.
    12. Arnold, Michael & Zhang, Lan, 2020. "Competition with an information clearinghouse and asymmetric firms: Why more than two firms compete (or not) for shoppers," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 55-82.
    13. Raymond J. Deneckere & Dan Kovenock, 1988. "Capacity-Constrained Price Competition When Unit Costs Differ," Discussion Papers 861, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
    14. Mark Armstrong & John Vickers, 2018. "Patterns of Competition with Captive Customers," Economics Series Working Papers 864, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    15. Dinlersoz, Emin M. & Pereira, Pedro, 2007. "On the diffusion of electronic commerce," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 541-574, June.
    16. Attila Tasnádi, 2016. "Endogenous timing of moves in Bertrand–Edgeworth triopolies," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 12(4), pages 317-334, December.
    17. Johannes Johnen & David Ronayne, 2021. "The only Dance in Town: Unique Equilibrium in a Generalized Model of Price Competition," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(3), pages 595-614, September.
    18. Glenn Ellison & Sara Fisher Ellison, 2005. "Lessons About Markets from the Internet," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(2), pages 139-158, Spring.
    19. Anderson, Simon & Baik, Alicia & Larson, Nathan, 2015. "Personalized pricing and advertising: An asymmetric equilibrium analysis," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 53-73.
    20. Prabal Roy Chowdhury, 2004. "Bertrand-Edgeworth equilibrium: Manipulable residual demand," Discussion Papers 04-15, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:27:y:2009:i:2:p:197-205. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505551 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.