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Equilibrium and optimal strategies to join a queue with partial information on service times

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  • Guo, Pengfei
  • Sun, Wei
  • Wang, Yulan

Abstract

In this paper, we study customer equilibrium as well as socially optimal strategies to join a queue with only partial information on the service time distribution such as moments and the range. Based on such partial information, customers adopt the entropy-maximization principle to obtain the expectation of their waiting cost and decide to join or balk. We find that more information encourages customers to join the queue. And it is beneficial for decision makers to convey partial information to customers in welfare maximization but reveal full information in profit maximization.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Pengfei & Sun, Wei & Wang, Yulan, 2011. "Equilibrium and optimal strategies to join a queue with partial information on service times," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 214(2), pages 284-297, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:214:y:2011:i:2:p:284-297
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Stark, Oded & Budzinski, Wiktor & Kosiorowski, Grzegorz, 2019. "Switching queues, cultural conventions, and social welfare," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 278(3), pages 837-844.
    2. Knight, Vincent A. & Harper, Paul R., 2013. "Selfish routing in public services," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 230(1), pages 122-132.
    3. Ying Shi & Xin Li & Ping Fan, 2016. "Optimization of an M/M/∞ Queueing System with Free Experience Service," Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research (APJOR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 33(06), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Benioudakis, Myron & Burnetas, Apostolos & Ioannou, George, 2021. "Lead-time quotations in unobservable make-to-order systems with strategic customers: Risk aversion, load control and profit maximization," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 289(1), pages 165-176.
    5. Ying Shi & Zhaotong Lian, 2016. "Equilibrium Strategies and Optimal Control for a Double-Ended Queue," Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research (APJOR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 33(03), pages 1-18, June.
    6. Shiliang Cui & Senthil Veeraraghavan, 2016. "Blind Queues: The Impact of Consumer Beliefs on Revenues and Congestion," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(12), pages 3656-3672, December.
    7. Zhou, Wenhui & Lian, Zhaotong & Wu, Jinbiao, 2014. "When should service firms provide free experience service?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 234(3), pages 830-838.
    8. Zhang, Zhe George & Yin, Xiaoling, 2021. "Information and pricing effects in two-tier public service systems," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    9. Shone, Rob & Knight, Vincent A. & Williams, Janet E., 2013. "Comparisons between observable and unobservable M/M/1 queues with respect to optimal customer behavior," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 227(1), pages 133-141.
    10. Olga Boudali & Antonis Economou, 2013. "The effect of catastrophes on the strategic customer behavior in queueing systems," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 60(7), pages 571-587, October.

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