IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/oropre/v52y2004i6p868-886.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A General Equilibrium Model for Industries with Price and Service Competition

Author

Listed:
  • Fernando Bernstein

    (The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708)

  • Awi Federgruen

    (Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027)

Abstract

This paper develops a stochastic general equilibrium inventory model for an oligopoly, in which all inventory constraint parameters are endogenously determined. We propose several systems of demand processes whose distributions are functions of all retailers' prices and all retailers' service levels. We proceed with the investigation of the equilibrium behavior of infinite-horizon models for industries facing this type of generalized competition, under demand uncertainty.We systematically consider the following three competition scenarios. (1) Price competition only: Here, we assume that the firms' service levels are exogenously chosen, but characterize how the price and inventory strategy equilibrium vary with the chosen service levels. (2) Simultaneous price and service-level competition: Here, each of the firms simultaneously chooses a service level and a combined price and inventory strategy. (3) Two-stage competition: The firms make their competitive choices sequentially. In a first stage, all firms simultaneously choose a service level; in a second stage, the firms simultaneously choose a combined pricing and inventory strategy with full knowledge of the service levels selected by all competitors. We show that in all of the above settings a Nash equilibrium of infinite-horizon stationary strategies exists and that it is of a simple structure, provided a Nash equilibrium exists in a so-called reduced game.We pay particular attention to the question of whether a firm can choose its service level on the basis of its own (input) characteristics (i.e., its cost parameters and demand function) only. We also investigate under which of the demand models a firm, under simultaneous competition, responds to a change in the exogenously specified characteristics of the various competitors by either: (i) adjusting its service level and price in the same direction, thereby compensating for price increases (decreases) by offering improved (inferior) service, or (ii) adjusting them in opposite directions, thereby simultaneously offering better or worse prices and service.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernando Bernstein & Awi Federgruen, 2004. "A General Equilibrium Model for Industries with Price and Service Competition," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 52(6), pages 868-886, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:oropre:v:52:y:2004:i:6:p:868-886
    DOI: 10.1287/opre.1040.0149
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/opre.1040.0149
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/opre.1040.0149?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Spence, 1976. "Product Selection, Fixed Costs, and Monopolistic Competition," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 43(2), pages 217-235.
    2. Awi Federgruen & Aliza Heching, 1999. "Combined Pricing and Inventory Control Under Uncertainty," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 47(3), pages 454-475, June.
    3. Ernst, Ricardo & Powell, Stephen G., 1998. "Manufacturer incentives to improve retail service levels," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(3), pages 437-450, February.
    4. SCHMALENSEE, Richard & THISSE, Jacques-François, 1988. "Perceptual maps and the optimal location of new products: an integrative essay," LIDAM Reprints CORE 840, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    5. Fernando Bernstein & Awi Federgruen, 2004. "Dynamic inventory and pricing models for competing retailers," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(2), pages 258-274, March.
    6. Kirman, Alan P & Sobel, Matthew J, 1974. "Dynamic Oligopoly with Inventories," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 42(2), pages 279-287, March.
    7. Ernst, Ricardo & Powell, Stephen G., 1995. "Optimal inventory policies under service-sensitive demand," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 316-327, December.
    8. Joskow, Paul L. & Rose, Nancy L., 1989. "The effects of economic regulation," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 25, pages 1449-1506, Elsevier.
    9. David R. Graham & Daniel P. Kaplan & David S. Sibley, 1983. "Efficiency and Competition in the Airline Industry," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 14(1), pages 118-138, Spring.
    10. McFadden, Daniel, 1980. "Econometric Models for Probabilistic Choice among Products," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(3), pages 13-29, July.
    11. David Besanko & Sachin Gupta & Dipak Jain, 1998. "Logit Demand Estimation Under Competitive Pricing Behavior: An Equilibrium Framework," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(11-Part-1), pages 1533-1547, November.
    12. Suman Basuroy & Dung Nguyen, 1998. "Multinomial Logit Market Share Models: Equilibrium Characteristics and Strategic Implications," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(10), pages 1396-1408, October.
    13. Thomas W. Hill, Jr., 1976. "A Simple Perturbed Demand Inventory Model with Ordering Cost," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 38-42, September.
    14. Avinash Dixit, 1979. "Quality and Quantity Competition," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 46(4), pages 587-599.
    15. Dana, James D, Jr, 2001. "Competition in Price and Availability When Availability is Unobservable," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 32(3), pages 497-513, Autumn.
    16. Rajiv D. Banker & Inder Khosla & Kingshuk K. Sinha, 1998. "Quality and Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(9), pages 1179-1192, September.
    17. Lode Li, 1992. "The Role of Inventory in Delivery-Time Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(2), pages 182-197, February.
    18. Jan A. Van Mieghem & Maqbool Dada, 1999. "Price Versus Production Postponement: Capacity and Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(12), pages 1639-1649, December.
    19. Daniel McFadden, 1986. "The Choice Theory Approach to Market Research," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(4), pages 275-297.
    20. Andy A. Tsay & Narendra Agrawal, 2000. "Channel Dynamics Under Price and Service Competition," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 2(4), pages 372-391, August.
    21. Berry, Steven & Levinsohn, James & Pakes, Ariel, 1995. "Automobile Prices in Market Equilibrium," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 63(4), pages 841-890, July.
    22. Uday S. Karmarkar & Richard C. Pitbladdo, 1997. "Quality, Class, and Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(1), pages 27-39, January.
    23. B. L. Schwartz, 1970. "Optimal Inventory Policies in Perturbed Demand Models," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(8), pages 509-518, April.
    24. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1990. "Rationalizability, Learning, and Equilibrium in Games with Strategic Complementarities," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(6), pages 1255-1277, November.
    25. Benjamin L. Schwartz, 1966. "A New Approach to Stockout Penalties," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(12), pages 538-544, August.
    26. R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), 1989. "Handbook of Industrial Organization," Handbook of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 2, number 2.
    27. R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), 1989. "Handbook of Industrial Organization," Handbook of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1.
    28. J. Miguel Villas-Boas & Russell S. Winer, 1999. "Endogeneity in Brand Choice Models," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(10), pages 1324-1338, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Ryan W. Buell & Dennis Campbell & Frances X. Frei, 2016. "How Do Customers Respond to Increased Service Quality Competition?," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 18(4), pages 585-607, October.
    2. Vishal Gaur & Young-Hoon Park, 2007. "Asymmetric Consumer Learning and Inventory Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(2), pages 227-240, February.
    3. K. Sudhir, 2001. "Structural Analysis of Manufacturer Pricing in the Presence of a Strategic Retailer," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 244-264, October.
    4. Tianhu Deng & Zuo-Jun Max Shen & J. George Shanthikumar, 2014. "Statistical Learning of Service-Dependent Demand in a Multiperiod Newsvendor Setting," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 62(5), pages 1064-1076, October.
    5. Vishal Singh & Ting Zhu, 2008. "Pricing and Market Concentration in Oligopoly Markets," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(6), pages 1020-1035, 11-12.
    6. K. Sudhir, 2001. "Competitive Pricing Behavior in the Auto Market: A Structural Analysis," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 42-60, January.
    7. Richards, Timothy J. & Hamilton, Stephen F. & Patterson, Paul M., 2010. "Spatial Competition and Private Labels," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 35(2), pages 1-26, August.
    8. Liberopoulos, George & Tsikis, Isidoros & Delikouras, Stefanos, 2010. "Backorder penalty cost coefficient "b": What could it be?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(1), pages 166-178, January.
    9. Belleflamme,Paul & Peitz,Martin, 2015. "Industrial Organization," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107069978.
    10. Belleflamme,Paul & Peitz,Martin, 2015. "Industrial Organization," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107687899.
    11. David Besanko & Jean-Pierre Dubé & Sachin Gupta, 2003. "Competitive Price Discrimination Strategies in a Vertical Channel Using Aggregate Retail Data," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(9), pages 1121-1138, September.
    12. Wallace J. Hopp & Xiaowei Xu, 2008. "A Static Approximation for Dynamic Demand Substitution with Applications in a Competitive Market," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 56(3), pages 630-645, June.
    13. Alfredo Martín-Oliver, 2018. "Bank Competition with Financing and Savings Substitutes," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 207-241, October.
    14. Qi Wang & Huazhong Zhao & Jinhong Xie, 2016. "Intra-Standard Competition: The Joint Impact of an Installed-User Base and a Supporting-Firm Base in Markets with Network Effects," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 3(3), pages 159-174, December.
    15. Toker Doganoglu & Daniel Klapper, 2006. "Goodwill and dynamic advertising strategies," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 5-29, March.
    16. Hongmin Li & Woonghee Tim Huh, 2011. "Pricing Multiple Products with the Multinomial Logit and Nested Logit Models: Concavity and Implications," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 549-563, October.
    17. Liberopoulos, George & Deligiannis, Michalis, 2022. "Optimal supplier inventory control policies when buyer purchase incidence is driven by past service," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 300(3), pages 917-936.
    18. Raymond Hartman, 2001. "Price-Performance Competition and the Merger Guidelines," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 18(1), pages 53-75, February.
    19. Fernando Bernstein & Awi Federgruen, 2004. "Dynamic inventory and pricing models for competing retailers," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(2), pages 258-274, March.
    20. Fernando Bernstein & Awi Federgruen, 2007. "Coordination Mechanisms for Supply Chains Under Price and Service Competition," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 9(3), pages 242-262, January.

    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:inm:oropre:v:52:y:2004:i:6:p:868-886. 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: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    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.