Problem definition: Fulfillment flexibility, the ability of distribution centers (DCs) to fulfill demand originating from other DCs, can help e-retailers reduce lost sales and improve service quality. As the cost of full flexibility is prohibitive, we seek to understand the value of partially...

In an online retail setting, we study the interplay between social learning-induced network effects and product proliferation-induced substitution effects within a product category in which customer-generated online reviews are available. We show that, when product launches are asynchronous,...