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On the comparison of risk-neutral and risk-averse newsvendor problems

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  • Abhilasha Prakash Katariya

    (Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA)

  • Sila Cetinkaya

    (Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA)

  • Eylem Tekin

    (University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA)

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to investigate and compare the relationship between risk-neutral and risk-averse newsvendor problems under three different decision criteria: expected utility (EU) maximization, mean-variance (MV) analysis, and conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) minimization. Several models in the literature have shown that for special cases of the newsvendor problem (eg, no salvage value, no shortage penalty, and with recourse option), a risk-averse newsvendor orders less than a risk-neutral newsvendor. First, we present an observation about the EU maximization models with such special cases where a risk-averse newsvendor orders less than a risk-neutral one. We note that this observation does not extend to the newsvendor problem with positive shortage penalty. Using several counterexamples, we demonstrate that the common wisdom that a risk-averse newsvendor orders less than a risk-neutral newsvendor is not true in general. Second, we demonstrate, analytically where possible and numerically if not, that the comparison of the optimal order quantities of risk-neutral and risk-averse newsvendors depends on the key assumptions regarding the model inputs, namely, the decision criterion, the demand distribution and the cost parameters such as shortage penalty and unit ordering cost. Third, we show that EU and the MV criteria yield consistent results while EU and CVaR criteria may yield consistent or conflicting results depending on the loss function used for the CVaR criterion.

Suggested Citation

  • Abhilasha Prakash Katariya & Sila Cetinkaya & Eylem Tekin, 2014. "On the comparison of risk-neutral and risk-averse newsvendor problems," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 65(7), pages 1090-1107, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:65:y:2014:i:7:p:1090-1107
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Xin-Sheng Xu & Felix T. S. Chan, 2019. "Optimal Option Purchasing Decisions for the Risk-Averse Retailer with Shortage Cost," Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research (APJOR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 36(02), pages 1-25, April.
    2. Kumar, Uday M & Bhat, Sanjay P. & Kavitha, Veeraruna & Hemachandra, Nandyala, 2023. "Approximate solutions to constrained risk-sensitive Markov decision processes," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 310(1), pages 249-267.
    3. Sun, Qinghe & Li, Wei & Meng, Qiang, 2024. "Single-leg shipping revenue management for expedited services with ambiguous elasticity in transit-time-sensitive demand," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    4. Xinsheng, Xu & Zhiqing, Meng & Rui, Shen & Min, Jiang & Ping, Ji, 2015. "Optimal decisions for the loss-averse newsvendor problem under CVaR," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 146-159.
    5. Raza, Syed Asif & Turiac, Mihaela, 2016. "Joint optimal determination of process mean, production quantity, pricing, and market segmentation with demand leakage," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(1), pages 312-326.
    6. Xiang Li & Yongjian Li, 2016. "On lot-sizing problem in a random yield production system under loss aversion," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 240(2), pages 415-434, May.
    7. Panos Kouvelis & Rong Li, 2019. "Integrated Risk Management for Newsvendors with Value-at-Risk Constraints," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 816-832, October.
    8. Yufei Ren & David Croson & Rachel Croson, 2017. "The overconfident newsvendor," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 68(5), pages 496-506, May.
    9. Peng, Hongjun & Pang, Tao, 2019. "Optimal strategies for a three-level contract-farming supply chain with subsidy," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 274-286.

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