Consider a firm facing two consumer segments with differing valuations for quality. The demand is stationary and known, and consumers make repeat purchase. However, once a premium product is introduced, the valuations of the consumers change in the next period. The firm derives a cost savings...

This paper, motivated by the experiences of major US-based broadcast television network, presents algorithms and heuristics to schedule commercial videotapes. Major advertisers purchase several slots to air commercials during a given time period on a broadcast network. We study the problem of...

Consider two manufacturers, each producing a single substitutable product. In any geographical area, there are two retail outlets through which the products are sold to the end consumers. Each of the two retail outlets could be privately owned (i.e. a franchised outlet) or owned by the...

The Zipf distribution is known to describe various natural phenomena, including city populations in the United States, frequency of English words in literature, immune system response in human beings, and certain aspects of Internet traffic. Using data from 70 markets, we show that the market...

Much research has examined how and why managers discipline members by removing privileges. However, there has been little research examining the phenomenon of returning privileges to disciplined members, otherwise known as reinstatement. This research introduces reinstatement to the discussion...

In the extant vertical integration literature, the question of how the firm's portfolio of outsourced work is managed across suppliers has been relatively understudied. We seek to advance this area of research by examining factors that influence how concentrated the firm's outsourcing is among...

This paper examines emergent information systems and technologies and explains under what supply and demand conditions inter-firm modularization of information-based products and services and subsequent vertical de-integration of organizations is more likely. Research in organizational economics...

The predominant focus in research on organizations is either on private or public institutions without consistent consideration of their interdependencies. The emphasis in scholarship on private or public interests has strengthened as disciplinary and professional knowledge has deepened:...

Alfred Chandler's recent passing is cause to review and celebrate his many contributions to business history. It also presents an opportunity to highlight links between his rich historical analyses concerning organizational and industrial innovation and contemporary management studies of the...