We show that demand uncertainty leads to vertical product differentiation even when consumers are homogeneous. When a firm anticipates that its inventory or capacity may not be fully utilized, product variety can reduce its expected costs of excess capacity. When the firm offers a continuum of...

We demonstrate that demand uncertainty can explain equilibrium product variety in the presence of sunk costs. Product variety is an efficient response to uncertainty because it reduces the expected costs associated with excess capacity. We find that within the firm's product line, the highest...

This paper argues that revenue sharing is a valuable instrument in vertically separated industries when there is intrabrand competition among the downstream firms, demand is stochastic or variable, and downstream inventory is chosen before demand is realized. In these environments, the upstream...

When players who choose a common strategy face a common shock, while players who choose different strategies face independent or imperfectly correlated shocks, equilibrium choices exhibit differentiation (respectively emulation) when the sign of the cross-partial derivative of the firms' profit...

This paper presents a strategic model of competition in both price and availability when firms can publicly commit to prices but not inventories (or capacities). Demand is uncertain and firms stock out in equilibrium. Consumers choose where to shop on the basis of price and expected service rate...

The ability to restrict access to distribution channels or input suppliers is commonly thought to be a barrier to entry. Many have argued that a monopolist can use vertical integration as means of foreclosing entry. We consider a duopoly market and ask whether duopolists who control access to...

When platform-based manufacturing exhibits overdesign costs then platform adoption will lead to a decrease in product line differentiation. In contrast, Krishnan and Gupta (2001) argued that in the presence of overdesign costs and platform economies, platform production always leads to a more...

We present a statistical model which uses data on National Football League games and betting lines to study how agents learn from past outcomes and to test market efficiency. Using Kalman Filter estimation, we show that terms' abilities exhibit substantial week-to-week variation during the...

Buyer cooperatives, buyer alliances, and horizontal mergers are often perceived as attempts to increase buyer power. In contrast to prior research emphasizing group size, I show that even small buyer groups composed of buyers with heterogeneous preferences can increase price competition among...