This paper provides research into the effects of product class and seller reputation on price-setting in online auctions. Sellers may offer price information to potential bidders through buy-now prices (BNPs) and starting prices (SPs). In two experiments, the authors show that for products with...

Retailers selling items through Internet auctions frequently use buy-now prices (BNPs), which allow the immediate selling of an item to consumers at a fixed price. Previous research has proposed several theories of the usage of BNPs by bidders. We study the usage of BNPs from a seller's point of...

This paper investigates the importance of bidder types and product types in online charity auctions. Through a large-scale controlled field experiment, the authors identify charitable and non-charitable bidders, and investigate bidding activities in charity and non-charity auctions. Results show...

We derive the closed-form solution that characterizes the equilibrium in the circular city model, when competing firms have heterogeneous production costs. Tractability issues in this setting are well-known and have not been resolved in prior work. In this paper, the equilibrium solution...

Transaction cost theory has largely considered specific investments as exogenous, leading to calls for studying them as endogenous decisions. We examine firms' specific investment decisions through a game-theoretic model of bilateral, sequential decisions in an extant franchisor-franchisee...

This paper provides a theory of rationing where rationing functions as an effective mechanism for second degree price discrimination by a monopoly seller. When a seller charges multiple prices on homogenous products to all consumers, supply at the lowest price is limited and rationed among...

Third-party sellers in online marketplaces provide wide product/service variety and are highly heterogeneous in the capability of delivering value to buyers. Seller variety and value heterogeneity shape seller competition, which then affects the marketplace owner’s profit. This paper presents...

The relationship between brand equity and channel governance is recognized in practice and is of particular interest to senior managers. However, research in marketing on this topic is limited and practitioners and scholars seem divided on the nature of this relationship. To guide practice and...

This paper examines a monopoly platform's two-sided pricing strategies in a setting with seller competition, which gives rise to not only positive cross-side network effects between buyers and sellers, but also a negative same-side network effect among sellers. We show that platform pricing...

Long queues in seasonal sales shopping are seemingly undesirable for shoppers and retailers. Yet, this paper proposes that shoppers' impatience can be a virtue for retailers. It shows that, when shoppers do queue, it is desirable under some conditions for retailers to strategically keep the...