IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jindec/v56y2008i3p535-552.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Product Variety And Demand Uncertainty: Why Markups Vary With Quality

Author

Listed:
  • DENNIS W. CARLTON
  • JAMES D. DANA

Abstract

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 quality product has the highest profit margin but the lowest percentage margin, while the lowest quality product has the highest percentage margin but the lowest absolute margin. Both of these relationships are consistent with evidence available from marketing studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Dennis W. Carlton & James D. Dana, 2008. "Product Variety And Demand Uncertainty: Why Markups Vary With Quality," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 535-552, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jindec:v:56:y:2008:i:3:p:535-552
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6451.2008.00353.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6451.2008.00353.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-6451.2008.00353.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jean Tirole, 1988. "The Theory of Industrial Organization," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262200716, December.
    2. Kelvin Lancaster, 1990. "The Economics of Product Variety: A Survey," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(3), pages 189-206.
    3. Garrett van Ryzin & Siddharth Mahajan, 1999. "On the Relationship Between Inventory Costs and Variety Benefits in Retail Assortments," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(11), pages 1496-1509, November.
    4. Sheshinski, Eytan & Dreze, Jacques H, 1976. "Demand Fluctuations, Capacity Utilization, and Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(5), pages 731-742, December.
    5. Justin P. Johnson & David P. Myatt, 2003. "Multiproduct Quality Competition: Fighting Brands and Product Line Pruning," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(3), pages 748-774, June.
    6. Shepard, Andrea, 1991. "Price Discrimination and Retail Configuration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(1), pages 30-53, February.
    7. Prescott, Edward C, 1975. "Efficiency of the Natural Rate," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(6), pages 1229-1236, December.
    8. Raymond Deneckere & James Peck, 1995. "Competition Over Price and Service Rate When Demand is Stochastic: A Strategic Analysis," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(1), pages 148-162, Spring.
    9. Eden, Benjamin, 1990. "Marginal Cost Pricing When Spot Markets Are Complete," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1293-1306, December.
    10. Carlton, Dennis W, 1978. "Market Behavior with Demand Uncertainty and Price Inflexibility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(4), pages 571-587, September.
    11. Mussa, Michael & Rosen, Sherwin, 1978. "Monopoly and product quality," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 301-317, August.
    12. Yehuda Bassok & Ravi Anupindi & Ram Akella, 1999. "Single-Period Multiproduct Inventory Models with Substitution," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 47(4), pages 632-642, August.
    13. Stephen A. Smith & Narendra Agrawal, 2000. "Management of Multi-Item Retail Inventory Systems with Demand Substitution," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 48(1), pages 50-64, February.
    14. George Stigler, 1939. "Production and Distribution in the Short Run," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47, pages 305-305.
    15. Dana, James D, Jr, 2001. "Competition in Price and Availability When Availability is Unobservable," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 32(3), pages 497-513, Autumn.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Yan & Shi, Hongyan & Petruzzi, Nicholas C., 2018. "Optimal quality and quantity provisions for centralized vs. decentralized distribution: Market size uncertainty effects," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 265(3), pages 1144-1158.
    2. He, Haonan & Wang, Shanyong, 2019. "Cost-benefit associations in consumer inventory problem with uncertain benefit," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 271-284.
    3. Kim In Kyung, 2020. "Movie Variety and the City," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(3), pages 1-26, July.
    4. Ying Rong & Ying‐Ju Chen & Zuo‐Jun Max Shen, 2015. "The impact of demand uncertainty on product line design under endogenous substitution," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 62(2), pages 143-157, March.
    5. Tamini, Lota Dabio, 2012. "Optimal quality choice under uncertainty on market development," Working Papers 148589, Structure and Performance of Agriculture and Agri-products Industry (SPAA).
    6. Fu, Qiuyao & Zhang, Teng & Li, Yunong, 2021. "Trade liberalization induced profitability enhancement? The impact of intermediate input imports on firm profitability," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    7. Cheng, Yi-Ling, 2014. "Vertical product differentiation under demand uncertainty," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 51-57.
    8. Chiang-Ming Chen & Chia-Yu Yeh & Jin-Li Hu, 2011. "Influence of Uncertain Demand on Product Variety: Evidence from the International Tourist Hotel Industry in Taiwan," Tourism Economics, , vol. 17(6), pages 1275-1285, December.
    9. Kazakis, Pantelis, 2023. "Uncertainty and Market Power: An Empirical Investigation," MPRA Paper 117914, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Gerhard O. Orosel & Klaus G. Zauner, 2011. "Quality Diversity and Prices in Markets for Experience Goods," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 709-738, September.
    11. Kinshuk Jerath & Sang-Hyun Kim & Robert Swinney, 2017. "Product Quality in a Distribution Channel with Inventory Risk," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(5), pages 747-761, September.
    12. In Kyung Kim, 2017. "Competition and Retailer Product Choice: Evidence from the Movie Theater Market," Working Papers 1704, Nazarbayev University, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2018.
    13. Manral, Lalit & Harrigan, Kathryn R., 2018. "The logic of demand-side diversification: Evidence from the US telecommunications sector, 1990–1996," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 127-141.
    14. Djolaud, Guy, 2022. "Import Penetration of Low Quality Products : Markups Implications," MPRA Paper 114611, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stole, Lars A., 2007. "Price Discrimination and Competition," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 34, pages 2221-2299, Elsevier.
    2. Dennis W. Carlton & James D. Dana, 2004. "Product Variety and Demand Uncertainty," NBER Working Papers 10594, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Wallace J. Hopp & Xiaowei Xu, 2008. "A Static Approximation for Dynamic Demand Substitution with Applications in a Competitive Market," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 56(3), pages 630-645, June.
    4. David, Laurent & Le Breton, Michel & Merillon, Olivier, 2007. "Regulating the Natural Gas Transportation Industry: Optimal Pricing Policy of a Monopolist with Advance-Purchase and Spot Markets," IDEI Working Papers 488, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    5. Shin, Hojung & Park, Soohoon & Lee, Euncheol & Benton, W.C., 2015. "A classification of the literature on the planning of substitutable products," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 246(3), pages 686-699.
    6. Michael Sattinger, 2002. "A Queuing Model of the Market for Access to Trading Partners," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 43(2), pages 533-548, May.
    7. Natalia Fabra & Juan-Pablo Montero, 2022. "Product Lines and Price Discrimination in Markets with Information Frictions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(2), pages 981-1001, February.
    8. Xuanming Su & Fuqiang Zhang, 2009. "On the Value of Commitment and Availability Guarantees When Selling to Strategic Consumers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(5), pages 713-726, May.
    9. de Meza, David & Reito, Francesco, 2021. "Macro shocks cause equilibrium price dispersion," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    10. Marco Cornia & Kristopher S. Gerardi & Adam Hale Shapiro, 2012. "Price Dispersion Over the Business Cycle: Evidence from the Airline Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 347-373, September.
    11. Diego Escobari & Manuel A. Hernandez, 2019. "Separating Between Unobserved Consumer Types: Evidence From Airlines," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(2), pages 1215-1230, April.
    12. Vishal Gaur & Dorothée Honhon, 2006. "Assortment Planning and Inventory Decisions Under a Locational Choice Model," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(10), pages 1528-1543, October.
    13. Gabszewicz, Jean J. & Marini, Marco A. & Tarola, Ornella, 2016. "Vertical Differentiation and Collusion: Cannibalization or Proliferation?," ETA: Economic Theory and Applications 232221, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    14. Jean J. Gabszewicz & Marco A. Marini & Ornella Tarola, 2016. "Vertical Differentiation and Collusion: Cannibalization or Proliferation?," Working Papers 2016.15, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    15. James D. Dana, Jr. & Nicholas C. Petruzzi, 2001. "Note: The Newsvendor Model with Endogenous Demand," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(11), pages 1488-1497, November.
    16. Marvel, Howard P. & Wang, Hao, 2009. "Distribution contracts to support optimal inventory holdings under demand uncertainty," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 625-631, September.
    17. Vishal Gaur & Young-Hoon Park, 2007. "Asymmetric Consumer Learning and Inventory Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(2), pages 227-240, February.
    18. Yao Luo & Isabelle Perrigne & Quang Vuong, 2018. "Structural Analysis of Nonlinear Pricing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(6), pages 2523-2568.
    19. Yu, Yimin & Shou, Biying & Ni, Yaodong & Chen, Li, 2017. "Optimal production, pricing, and substitution policies in continuous review production-inventory systems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 260(2), pages 631-649.
    20. Lingxiu Dong & Panos Kouvelis & Zhongjun Tian, 2009. "Dynamic Pricing and Inventory Control of Substitute Products," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 11(2), pages 317-339, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jindec:v:56:y:2008:i:3:p:535-552. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-1821 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.