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Beyond price mechanisms: How much can service help manage the competition from gray markets?

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  • Iravani, Foad
  • Dasu, Sriram
  • Ahmadi, Reza

Abstract

Companies operating global supply chains in various industries struggle with parallel importers diverting goods from authorized channels to gray markets. While the existing gray market literature mainly focuses on pricing, in this paper we develop a model to examine the role of demand enhancing services as non-price mechanisms for coping with gray markets. We consider a manufacturer that sells a product in two markets and a parallel importer that transfers the product from the low-price market to the high-price market and competes with the manufacturer on price and service. We show that parallel importation forces the manufacturer to provide more service in both markets. We explore the value of service and the effects of competition intensity and market responsiveness to service on the manufacturer’s policy. We find that a little service can go a long way in boosting the profit of the manufacturer. Investing in service enables the manufacturer to differentiate herself from the parallel importer and to achieve the ideal price discrimination. In addition, service increases the value of strategic price discrimination when facing parallel importation. We also analyze the case when the manufacturer sells through a retailer in the high price market and can delegate service provision to the retailer or provide service herself. We find that delegating service to the retailer reduces double marginalization and can simultaneously benefit the manufacturer and the retailer, even if the retailer is not as efficient as the manufacturer.

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  • Iravani, Foad & Dasu, Sriram & Ahmadi, Reza, 2016. "Beyond price mechanisms: How much can service help manage the competition from gray markets?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 252(3), pages 789-800.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:252:y:2016:i:3:p:789-800
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2016.02.006
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    Cited by:

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    4. Foad Iravani & Hamed Mamani & Emisa Nategh, 2020. "External Reference Pricing and Parallel Imports of Pharmaceuticals: A Policy Comparison," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(12), pages 2716-2735, December.
    5. Xu, Lei & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Shi, Xiaoran & Zhou, Chi, 2024. "Gray marketing phenomena in global supply chains: Can pricing strategies help?," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    6. Abhishek Srivastava & Arqum Mateen & Gopalakrishnan Narayanamurthy & Suman Niranjan & Ashutosh Sarkar, 2024. "Impact of gray markets on strategic channel choice and social welfare," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 340(2), pages 1035-1062, September.
    7. Giorgio Gnecco & Berna Tuncay & Fabio Pammolli, 2018. "A Comparison of Game-Theoretic Models for Parallel Trade," International Game Theory Review (IGTR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(03), pages 1-57, September.
    8. Li, Hai & Shao, Jing & Zhu, Stuart X., 2018. "Parallel importation in a supply Chain: The impact of gray market structure," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 220-241.
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    10. Xueying Liu & Amit Pazgal, 2021. "The Impact of Gray Markets on Product Quality and Profitability," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 7(3), pages 62-73, October.
    11. Xueying Liu & Amit Pazgal, 2020. "The Impact of Gray Markets on Product Quality and Profitability," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 7(3), pages 62-73, October.
    12. Lifeng Mu & Xin Tang & Vijayan Sugumaran & Wei Xu & Xiangyang Sun, 2023. "Optimal rebate strategy for an online retailer with a cashback platform: commission-driven or marketing-based?," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 475-510, March.
    13. Shi, Xiutian & Tang, Jianxi & Dong, Ciwei, 2022. "Should a domestic firm carve out a niche in overseas markets? Value of purchasing agents," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 300(1), pages 85-94.
    14. Wang, Yingjia & Lin, Jiaxin & Choi, Tsan-Ming, 2020. "Gray market and counterfeiting in supply chains: A review of the operations literature and implications to luxury industries," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    15. Huang, Hongfu & He, Yong & Chen, Jing, 2019. "Competitive strategies and quality to counter parallel importation in global market," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 173-197.
    16. Zhang, Yong & Zhang, Sheng Hao & Feng, Haofang, 2021. "The impacts of money-back guarantees in the presence of parallel importation," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 295(1), pages 170-182.
    17. Huang, Hongfu & He, Yong & Chen, Jing, 2020. "Cross-market selling channel strategies in an international luxury brand's supply chain with gray markets," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
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