IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/revind/v61y2022i3d10.1007_s11151-022-09880-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Protecting Sticky Consumers in Essential Markets

Author

Listed:
  • Walter Beckert

    (University of London)

  • Paolo Siciliani

    (Bank of England)

Abstract

This paper studies regulatory policy interventions that are aimed at protecting sticky consumers who are exposed to the risk of being taken advantage of. We model heterogeneous consumer switching costs alongside asymmetric market shares. This setting encompasses many markets in which established firms are challenged by new entrants. We identify circumstances under which such interventions can be counterproductive: with regard to the stated consumer protection objective and also with regard to the complementary aim to promote competition.

Suggested Citation

  • Walter Beckert & Paolo Siciliani, 2022. "Protecting Sticky Consumers in Essential Markets," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 61(3), pages 247-278, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:61:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11151-022-09880-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11151-022-09880-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11151-022-09880-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11151-022-09880-z?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Bagnoli & Ted Bergstrom, 2006. "Log-concave probability and its applications," Studies in Economic Theory, in: Charalambos D. Aliprantis & Rosa L. Matzkin & Daniel L. McFadden & James C. Moore & Nicholas C. Yann (ed.), Rationality and Equilibrium, pages 217-241, Springer.
    2. Kenneth S. Corts, 1998. "Third-Degree Price Discrimination in Oligopoly: All-Out Competition and Strategic Commitment," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 29(2), pages 306-323, Summer.
    3. Varian, Hal R, 1980. "A Model of Sales," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(4), pages 651-659, September.
    4. Yongmin Chen, 1997. "Paying Customers to Switch," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(4), pages 877-897, December.
    5. Bernard Caillaud & Romain de Nijs, 2014. "Strategic Loyalty Reward in Dynamic Price Discrimination," Post-Print halshs-01109042, HAL.
    6. Chiara Fumagalli & Massimo Motta, 2013. "A Simple Theory of Predation," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(3), pages 595-631.
    7. Thomas Gehrig & Oz Shy & Rune Stenbacka, 2012. "A Welfare Evaluation of History-Based Price Discrimination," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 373-393, December.
    8. Esteves, Rosa-Branca, 2014. "Behavior-based price discrimination with retention offers," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 39-51.
    9. Paul Heidhues & Botond Kőszegi, 2017. "Naïveté-Based Discrimination," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(2), pages 1019-1054.
    10. Bester, Helmut & Petrakis, Emmanuel, 1996. "Coupons and oligopolistic price discrimination," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 227-242.
    11. Mark Armstrong, 2015. "Search and Ripoff Externalities," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 47(3), pages 273-302, November.
    12. Lebrun, Bernard, 1998. "Comparative Statics in First Price Auctions," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 97-110, October.
    13. Susan Athey, 2002. "Monotone Comparative Statics under Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 187-223.
    14. Bernard Caillaud & Romain de Nijs, 2011. "Strategic loyalty reward in dynamic price Discrimination," PSE Working Papers halshs-00622291, HAL.
    15. Liliane Karlinger & Massimo Motta, 2012. "Exclusionary Pricing When Scale Matters," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 75-103, March.
    16. Thisse, Jacques-Francois & Vives, Xavier, 1988. "On the Strategic Choice of Spatial Price Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(1), pages 122-137, March.
    17. Gehrig, Thomas & Shy, Oz & Stenbacka, Rune, 2011. "History-based price discrimination and entry in markets with switching costs: A welfare analysis," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(5), pages 732-739, June.
    18. Joseph Farrell & Carl Shapiro, 1988. "Dynamic Competition with Switching Costs," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 19(1), pages 123-137, Spring.
    19. Mark Armstrong & John Vickers, 2019. "Discriminating against Captive Customers," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 1(3), pages 257-272, December.
    20. Farrell, Joseph & Klemperer, Paul, 2007. "Coordination and Lock-In: Competition with Switching Costs and Network Effects," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 31, pages 1967-2072, Elsevier.
    21. Besanko, David & Lyon, Thomas P., 1993. "Equilibrium incentives for most-favored customer clauses in an oligopolistic industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 347-367, September.
    22. Bernard Caillaud & Romain de Nijs, 2014. "Strategic Loyalty Reward in Dynamic Price Discrimination," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-01109042, HAL.
    23. Paul Klemperer, 1987. "Markets with Consumer Switching Costs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 102(2), pages 375-394.
    24. Holmes, Thomas J, 1989. "The Effects of Third-Degree Price Discrimination in Oligopoly," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(1), pages 244-250, March.
    25. Ali Hortaçsu & Seyed Ali Madanizadeh & Steven L. Puller, 2017. "Power to Choose? An Analysis of Consumer Inertia in the Residential Electricity Market," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 192-226, November.
    26. Greg Shaffer & Z. John Zhang, 2000. "Pay to Switch or Pay to Stay: Preference‐Based Price Discrimination in Markets with Switching Costs," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 397-424, June.
    27. Yongmin Chen, 2008. "Dynamic Price Discrimination With Asymmetric Firms," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 729-751, December.
    28. Siciliani, Paolo & Beckert, Walter, 2017. "Spatial models of heterogeneous switching costs," Bank of England working papers 689, Bank of England.
    29. Bernard Caillaud & Romain De Nijs, 2014. "Strategic Loyalty Reward in Dynamic Price Discrimination," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(5), pages 725-742, September.
    30. Sumit Agarwal & John R. Grigsby & Ali Hortaçsu & Gregor Matvos & Amit Seru, 2020. "Searching for Approval," Working Papers 2020-1, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    31. Klemperer, Paul D, 1987. "Entry Deterrence in Markets with Consumer Switching Costs," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 97(388a), pages 99-117, Supplemen.
    32. 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.
    33. Rosa-Branca Esteves, "undated". "Behaviour-Based Price Discrimination with Retention Offers," NIPE Working Papers 09/2014, NIPE - Universidade do Minho.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Walter Beckert & Paolo Siciliani, 2021. "Protecting sticky consumers in essential markets," IFS Working Papers W21/10, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    2. Walter Beckert & Paolo Siciliani, 2018. "Protecting Vulnerable Consumers in "Switching Markets"," Birkbeck Working Papers in Economics and Finance 1808, Birkbeck, Department of Economics, Mathematics & Statistics.
    3. Ki-Eun Rhee & Raphael Thomadsen, 2017. "Behavior-Based Pricing in Vertically Differentiated Industries," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(8), pages 2729-2740, August.
    4. Umezawa, Masashi, 2022. "Behavior-based price discrimination in a horizontally and vertically differentiated duopoly with switching costs," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    5. Elias Carroni, 2018. "Behaviour-based price discrimination with cross-group externalities," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 137-157, October.
    6. Stefano Colombo & Clara Graziano & Aldo Pignataro, 2021. "History-Based Price Discrimination with Imperfect Information Accuracy and Asymmetric Market Shares," CESifo Working Paper Series 9049, CESifo.
    7. 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.
    8. Xuan Wang & Chi To Ng, 2020. "New retail versus traditional retail in e-commerce: channel establishment, price competition, and consumer recognition," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 291(1), pages 921-937, August.
    9. Rosa Branca Esteves, 2009. "A Survey on the Economics of Behaviour-Based Price Discrimination," NIPE Working Papers 5/2009, NIPE - Universidade do Minho.
    10. Rosa‐Branca Esteves & Helder Vasconcelos, 2015. "Price Discrimination under Customer Recognition and Mergers," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 523-549, September.
    11. Colombo, Stefano, 2015. "Should a firm engage in behaviour-based price discrimination when facing a price discriminating rival? A game-theory analysis," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 6-18.
    12. Carroni, Elias, 2016. "Competitive customer poaching with asymmetric firms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 173-206.
    13. Glenn Ellison, 2005. "A Model of Add-On Pricing," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 585-637.
    14. Miettinen, Topi & Stenbacka, Rune, 2018. "Strategic short-termism: Implications for the management and acquisition of customer relationships," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 200-222.
    15. Rosa-Branca Esteves & Joana Resende, 2016. "Competitive Targeted Advertising with Price Discrimination," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(4), pages 576-587, July.
    16. Simshauser, Paul, 2018. "Price discrimination and the modes of failure in deregulated retail electricity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 54-70.
    17. Simshauser, Paul & Whish-Wilson, Patrick, 2017. "Price discrimination in Australia's retail electricity markets: An analysis of Victoria & Southeast Queensland," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 92-103.
    18. De Nijs, Romain, 2017. "Behavior-based price discrimination and customer information sharing," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 319-334.
    19. Florian Morath & Johannes Münster, 2018. "Online Shopping and Platform Design with Ex Ante Registration Requirements," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(1), pages 360-380, January.
    20. Luis Cabral, 2016. "Dynamic Pricing in Customer Markets with Switching Costs," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 20, pages 43-62, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Switching costs; Price discrimination; Uniform pricing; Most-favoured customer clauses; Price regulation; Competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design

    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:kap:revind:v:61:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11151-022-09880-z. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.