Problem Definition: Unoccupied waiting feels longer than it actually is. Service providers operationalize this psychological principle by offering entertainment options in waiting areas. A service cluster with a common space provides firms with an opportunity to cooperate in the investment for...

Problem definition: Strategic inventory refers to the inventory held by firms purely out of strategic considerations other than operational reasons (e.g., economies of scale). In this paper, we investigate the roles of strategic inventory in a system with two parallel supply chains under both...

We study a supply chain with one supplier and many retailers that face exogenous end-customer demands. The supplier and the retailers all try to minimize their own inventory-related costs. In contrast to the retailers’ newsvendor-type ordering behavior (under which retailers may place orders...

Problem definition: We study a supply chain with one supplier and one retailer. The supplier sets the wholesale price to maximize her profit, whereas the retailer is target-oriented and decides the order quantity to maximize his ability to reach a target profit. Academic/Practical relevance: Our...

Since the development of the Internet, thousands of manufacturers have been referring consumers visiting their websites to some or all of their retailers. Through a model with one manufacturer and two heterogeneous retailers, we investigate whether it is an equilibrium for the manufacturer to...

The literature has shown that supply chain performance is affected by the allocation of inventory risk. Conventionally, a pull supply chain generates a higher optimal order quantity and hence higher supply chain profit than a push supply chain when firms are risk neutral. Extended from the...

Online discount voucher market In the discount voucher market, customers usually face two types of valuation uncertainty, namely, preference uncertainty and consumption state uncertainty. Preference uncertainty is related to the customer's lack of relevant experience with the merchant, whereas...