Publications

The Price of Fairness

We study resource allocation problems that involve multiple self-interested parties and a central decision maker. We introduce and study the price of fairness, which is the... View Details

January 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Hester Pharmaceuticals (A): A Pricing Dilemma

By: Dante Roscini and John Masko

In August 2019, the leadership of Hester Pharmaceuticals (Hester) had a problem. Italy promised to be a key market for their new breakthrough oncology drug Akrozumab, but for almost two years, its single-payer healthcare system had been unable to agree with Hester on a... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Trade; Price; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Health Care and Treatment; Patents; Monopoly; Negotiation; Business and Government Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Human Needs; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Pharmaceutical Industry; Italy

February 2002
Case

Fighting AIDS and Pricing Drugs

By: John T. Gourville

In early 2001, makers of AIDS drugs were suing to prevent developing countries from violating their patents. The issue was driven by price. The developing countries could not afford the market price for these drugs. At the same time, the drug companies were reluctant... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Patents; Price; Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Pharmaceutical Industry

Article

Priced and Unpriced Online Markets

By: Benjamin Edelman

With forces both supporting and opposing zero prices, typical Internet-related activities—like surfing the web, web searches, and e-mail, along with behind-the-scenes practices like domain names and the allocation of IP (Internet Protocol) addresses—present a natural... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Price; Market Transactions; Service Operations; Internet

Read Now

August 1993 (Revised May 1994)
Case

American Airlines' Value Pricing (A)

By: Alvin J. Silk

In April 1992, American Airlines launched "Value Pricing" -- a radical simplification of the complex pricing structure that had evolved over more than a decade following deregulation of the U.S. domestic airline industry. American expected that the new pricing... View Details

Keywords: Price; Marketing Channels; Consumer Behavior; Performance Expectations; Value Creation; Aerospace Industry

16 Jan 2015
News

Price Protection Report: Credit Cards Shielding You From Price Drops

July 2005
Article

Price Improvement in Dealership Markets

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

Price improvement refers to the practice whereby dealers order executions that improve on quoted prices. Why are these improvements given? Standard thinking is that competition causes dealers to give better prices to customers with less information. This paper... View Details

Keywords: Price; Markets; Competition; Information; Customers; Negotiation; Mission and Purpose; Practice; Theory; Performance Improvement; Bids and Bidding; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

Research Summary

Do Prices Determine Vertical Integration?*

By: Laura Alfaro

What is the relationship between product prices and vertical integration? While the literature has focused on how integration affects prices, this paper provides evidence that prices can affect integration. Many theories in organizational economics and industrial... View Details

August 1997 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Imedia Corporation: The Pricing Decision

Efi Arazi, the president of a start-up called Imedia, must determine an appropriate pricing strategy for an innovation that will change the basis of competition in the cable TV industry. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Price; Entrepreneurship; Telecommunications Industry

March 1982 (Revised April 1982)
Case

Hertz Corp.: Guaranteed Pricing

The Hertz Corp., a $1.3 billion subsidiary of RCA, has instituted a "no mileage charge, ever" price program in response to competitive pressures. Pro forma revenue and profit projections, however, show the firm to be even further away from its corporate plan than... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Corporate Strategy; Product Marketing; Transportation Industry; Service Industry

June 2005 (Revised October 2007)
Background Note

The Law of One Price

By: Joshua D. Coval, Erik Stafford, Rodrigo Osmo, John Jernigan, Zack Page and Paulo Passoni

Demonstrates the Law of One Price in practice. Using synthetic securities, students should observe opportunities to earn profits when spreads emerge between portfolios that offer identical payoffs. Uses separate uptick financial simulation software. View Details

Keywords: Price

October 1981
Background Note

Trigger Price Mechanism

By: J. Ronald Fox

Keywords: Price

November 2019
Case

Gillette: Cutting Prices to Regain Share

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

After losing market share to low-priced competitors such as Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club for several years, Gillette decided to fight back by launching new products and increasing advertising. When these efforts failed to stem the losses, Gillette decided to cut the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Competition; Price; Public Equity; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Forthcoming
Article

Institutional Corporate Bond Pricing

By: Ishita Sen, Lorenzo Bretscher, Lukas Schmid and Varun Sharma

We propose an equilibrium corporate bond pricing model that accommodates the heterogeneity in institutional investors' preferences and mandates in an empirically tractable way. Our model, estimated on rich holdings data, quantifies investors' preferences and demand... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Bonds; Demand Systems; Insurance Companies; Mutual Funds; Liquidity; Bonds; Price; Investment Funds

SSRN

01 Jun 2012
News

Catherine Kuehn Price (MBA 1986) and Malcolm Price (MBA 1987)

Catherine Kuehn Price (MBA 1986) and Malcolm Price (MBA 1987) Cathy Kuehn Price and Malcolm Price cite two primary reasons for supporting HBS:... View Details

February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Priceline.com: Name Your Own Price

By: Robert J. Dolan

Priceline.com is a new concept shifting the setting of price from sellers to buyers. The company aspires to use its patented process of advertising units of demand at named prices to suppliers in many categories. This case focuses on its initial use in the airline... View Details

Keywords: Price; Internet and the Web; Marketing; Emerging Markets; Consumer Products Industry; Travel Industry; United States

October 1994
Supplement

American Airlines' Value Pricing (C)

By: Alvin J. Silk and Jamie Harper

Designed as a follow-up to American Airlines' Value Pricing (A). View Details

Keywords: Aerospace Industry