Publications

1986
Working Paper

Price Competition with a Distribution of Switch Costs and Reservation Prices

By: Jerry R. Green and Suzanne Scotchmer

When there is a distribution of switch costs and of reservation prices for a good, and marginal cost of producing the good is zero, equilibrium in pure price strategies may (and sometimes must) exhibit price dispersion. Equilibrium may or may not exist, and there may... View Details

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February 1985 (Revised September 1988)
Case

Komatsu Ltd.

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Reviews and updates the structure and characteristics of the earth-moving equipment industry presented in the companion case, Caterpillar Tractor Co. After revealing that CAT has suffered major financial losses during the period from 1981 through 1984, the case... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Machinery and Machining; Price; Growth and Development; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Production; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Industrial Products Industry

September 1984 (Revised December 1992)
Case

Federated Industries (A)

By: Robert J. Dolan

The market leader in an overcapacity industry with a commodity product is trying to restore industry price levels. Price cutting has hurt overall industry price levels and the leader must determine whether (and how) to bring up price levels or exit the market. View Details

Keywords: Supply and Industry; Market Entry and Exit; Price; Goods and Commodities; Competition; Consumer Products Industry; United States

September 1984 (Revised May 1985)
Teaching Note

Federated Industries (A) TN

By: Robert J. Dolan

Teaching Note for (9-585-104). View Details

Keywords: Supply and Industry; Market Entry and Exit; Price; Goods and Commodities; Competition; Consumer Products Industry; United States

June 1983
Background Note

Note on the Paper Machinery Industry

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes the major structural changes taking place in the paper industry in the 1970s: major oil and pulp price increases, pollution legislation, a shift in industry development from OECD countries to LDCs and NICs and the technological revolution in paper making.... View Details

Keywords: Engineering; Price; Global Strategy; Growth and Development; Industry Structures; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Pollutants; Competition; Pulp and Paper Industry

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April 1982 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Hart Schaffner & Marx: The Market for Separately Ticketed Suits

By: Richard S. Tedlow

Calls for a decision on whether Hart Schaffner & Marx, the nation's leading manufacturer of high quality, branded suits, should expand its product line by marketing suits that are separately ticketed (i.e., the coat, vest, and slacks are sold from individual hangers... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Decisions; Price; Markets; Distribution Channels; Production; Mathematical Methods; Competitive Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry

January 1, 1982
Article

Price Wars, More Liberal Credit and Other Competitive Maneuvers

By: M. E. Porter

Keywords: Competition; Price; Credit

January 1980 (Revised August 1986)
Case

General Electric vs. Westinghouse in Large Turbine Generators (A)

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the U.S. large turbine generator industry in early 1963, a period of severe price cutting and depressed industry conditions. Presents data to allow a structural analysis of the industry and an analysis of the strategies of the major players since 1946. The... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Machinery and Machining; Cost Management; Price; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Industry Structures; Competition; Manufacturing Industry; United States

Article

Temporary General Equilibrium in a Sequential Trading Model with Spot and Futures Transactions

By: Jerry R. Green

The existence of an equilibrium is proven for a two-period model in which there are spot transactions and futures transactions in the first period and spot markets in the second period. Prices at that date are viewed with subjective uncertainty by all traders. This... View Details

Keywords: Equilibrium; Sequential Trading; Econometric Models

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Forthcoming
Article

Beefing IT Up for Your Investor? Engagement with Open Source Communities, Innovation, and Startup Funding: Evidence from GitHub

By: Annamaria Conti, Christian Peukert and Maria P. Roche

We study the engagement of nascent firms with open source communities and its implications for innovation and attracting funding. To do so, we link data on 160,065 U.S. startups from Crunchbase to their activities on the open source software development platform... View Details

Keywords: Startups; Knowledge; Open Source Communities; GitHub; Machine Learning; Innovation; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Information Technology; Strategy

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Forthcoming
Article

Collusion in Brokered Markets

By: John William Hatfield, Scott Duke Kominers and Richard Lowery

High commissions in the U.S. residential real estate agency market present a puzzle for economic theory because brokerage is not a concentrated industry. We model brokered markets as a game in which agents post prices for customers and then choose which other agents to... View Details

SSRN

Research Summary

Competing business models

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

Building on the literatures on competitive positioning and the theory of industrial organization, my work seeks to tackle previously unaddressed questions by studying situations where firms compete in dissimilar ways. Some examples of these questions include:View Details

Teaching Interest

Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms

By: Andy Wu

Without exception, the most valuable companies in the world today are platforms: Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and many other firms have built their fortunes by facilitating innovation across global ecosystems or enabling the broad exchange of goods... View Details

Teaching Interest

Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms—(Executive Education)

By: David B. Yoffie

Summary

Without exception, the most valuable companies in the world today are platforms. Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and many other firms have built their fortunes by facilitating innovation across global ecosystems or... View Details

Keywords: Platforms; Technology; Strategy; Digital Business; Social Networks; Self-driving Cars; Mobile Gaming; Esports; Financial Services; Online Retail; Ride-sharing; Search; Auctions; United States; Asia; China; Europe

Forthcoming
Article

Dynamic Competition for Customer Memberships

By: Cristian Chica, Julian Jimenez-Cardenas and Jorge Tamayo

A competitive two-period membership (subscription) market is analyzed. Two symmetric firms charge a “membership” fee that allows consumers to buy products or services at a given unit price for both periods. Firms can choose between long- or short-term memberships. When... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Price Discrimination; Membership; Dynamic Competition; Competition; Price; Consumer Behavior; Business Model