IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/uwfswp/201538.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

An Economic Analysis of Brand-Level Strategic Pricing Between Coca-Cola Company and Pepsi

Author

Listed:
  • Dhar, Tirtha
  • Chavas, Jean- Paul
  • Cotterill, Ronald W.
  • Gould, Brian W.

Abstract

We investigate market structure and strategic pricing for leading brands sold by Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. in the context of a flexible demand specification (i.e., nonlinear AIDS) and structural price equations. Our flexible and generalized approach does not rely upon the often used ad hoc linear approximations to demand and profit-maximizing first-order conditions, andthe assumption of Nash-Bertrand competition. We estimate a conjectural variation model and test for different brand-level pure strategy games. This approach of modeling market competition using the nonlinear Full Information Maximum Likelihood (FIML) estimation method provides insights into the nature of imperfect competition and the extent of market power. We find no support for a Nash-Bertrand or Stackelberg Leadership equilibrium in the brand-level pricing game. Results also provide insights into the unique positioning of PepsiCo.’s Mountain Dew brand.

Suggested Citation

  • Dhar, Tirtha & Chavas, Jean- Paul & Cotterill, Ronald W. & Gould, Brian W., 2005. "An Economic Analysis of Brand-Level Strategic Pricing Between Coca-Cola Company and Pepsi," Working Papers 201538, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Food System Research Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uwfswp:201538
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.201538
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/201538/files/wp2005-03.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.201538?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. Cotterill, Ronald W & Putsis, William P, Jr & Dhar, Ravi, 2000. "Assessing the Competitive Interaction between Private Labels and National Brands," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73(1), pages 109-137, January.
    2. Jerry Hausman & Gregory Leonard & J. Douglas Zona, 1994. "Competitive Analysis with Differentiated Products," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 34, pages 143-157.
    3. repec:adr:anecst:y:1994:i:34:p:06 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Brian W. Gould, 2003. "An Empirical Assessment of Endogeneity Issues in Demand Analysis for Differentiated Products," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(3), pages 605-617.
    5. Vuong, Quang H, 1989. "Likelihood Ratio Tests for Model Selection and Non-nested Hypotheses," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(2), pages 307-333, March.
    6. David Besanko & Sachin Gupta & Dipak Jain, 1998. "Logit Demand Estimation Under Competitive Pricing Behavior: An Equilibrium Framework," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(11-Part-1), pages 1533-1547, November.
    7. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/f0uohitsgqh8dhk9820172631 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Richard Blundell & Jean-Marc Robin, 2000. "Latent Separability: Grouping Goods without Weak Separability," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 68(1), pages 53-84, January.
    9. Giancarlo Moschini & Daniele Moro & Richard D. Green, 1994. "Maintaining and Testing Separability in Demand Systems," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 76(1), pages 61-73.
    10. David Genesove & Wallace P. Mullin, 1998. "Testing Static Oligopoly Models: Conduct and Cost in the Sugar Industry, 1890-1914," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 29(2), pages 355-377, Summer.
    11. Steven T. Berry, 1994. "Estimating Discrete-Choice Models of Product Differentiation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 25(2), pages 242-262, Summer.
    12. Jean Tirole, 1988. "The Theory of Industrial Organization," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262200716, December.
    13. Werden, G.J., 1996. "Demand Elasticities in Antitrust Analysis," Papers 96-11, U.S. Department of Justice - Antitrust Division.
    14. Dixon, Huw D. & Somma, Ernesto, 2003. "The evolution of consistent conjectures," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 523-536, August.
    15. Gasmi, F & Laffont, J J & Vuong, Q, 1992. "Econometric Analysis of Collusive Behavior in a Soft-Drink Market," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(2), pages 277-311, Summer.
    16. Friedman, James W. & Mezzetti, Claudio, 2002. "Bounded rationality, dynamic oligopoly, and conjectural variations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 287-306, November.
    17. Dixit, Avinash K, 1986. "Comparative Statics for Oligopoly," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 27(1), pages 107-122, February.
    18. Nevo, Aviv, 1998. "Identification of the oligopoly solution concept in a differentiated-products industry," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 391-395, June.
    19. James A. Brander & Anming Zhang, 1990. "Market Conduct in the Airline Industry: An Empirical Investigation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 21(4), pages 567-583, Winter.
    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. Shinn‐Shyr Wang & Kyle W. Stiegert & Tirtha P. Dhar, 2010. "Strategic Pricing Behavior under Asset Value Maximization," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 58(2), pages 151-170, June.
    2. João Montez, 2015. "Controlling opportunism in vertical contracting when production precedes sales," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 46(3), pages 650-670, September.
    3. Liu, Yizao & Lopez, Rigoberto & Zhu, Chen, 2013. "How Effective is Public Policy in Decreasing Soda Consumption? An Assessment of Four Policy Options," Working Paper series 155328, University of Connecticut, Charles J. Zwick Center for Food and Resource Policy.
    4. Brueckner, Jan K. & Luo, Dan, 2014. "Measuring strategic firm interaction in product-quality choices: The case of airline flight frequency," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 3(1), pages 102-115.
    5. Xun Li & Rigoberto A. Lopez, 2015. "Do Brand Advertising Spillovers Matter?," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 229-242, April.
    6. Keaton Miller & Boyoung Seo, 2021. "The Effect of Cannabis Legalization on Substance Demand and Tax Revenues," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 74(1), pages 107-145.
    7. Kai Yin Woo & Shu Kam Lee, 2018. "Price convergence in the UK supermarket chains: Evidence from nonlinear cointegration approach," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 7(3), pages 115-125.
    8. Alberto Salvo, 2009. "Cut‐Throat Fringe Competition In An Emerging Country Market: Tax Evasion Or The Absence Of Market Power?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 677-711, December.
    9. Rigoberto A. Lopez & Yizao Liu & Chen Zhu, 2013. "Spillover and Competitive Effects of Advertising in the Carbonated Soft Drink Market," Working Papers 18, University of Connecticut, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Charles J. Zwick Center for Food and Resource Policy.
    10. Horrace, William C. & Huang, Rui & Perloff, Jeffrey M., 2016. "Effects of increased variety on demand, pricing, and welfare," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(4), pages 569-587.
    11. Bonnet, Céline & Réquillart, Vincent, 2013. "Tax incidence with strategic firms in the soft drink market," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 77-88.
    12. Alessandro Bonanno & Carlo Russo & Luisa Menapace, 2018. "Market power and bargaining in agrifood markets: A review of emerging topics and tools," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 6-23, December.
    13. Astrid Jonas & Jutta Roosen, 2008. "Demand for milk labels in Germany: organic milk, conventional brands, and retail labels," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(2), pages 192-206.

    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. Tirtha Dhar & Jean‐Paul Chavas & Ronald W. Cotterill & Brian W. Gould, 2005. "An Econometric Analysis of Brand‐Level Strategic Pricing Between Coca‐Cola Company and PepsiCo," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(4), pages 905-931, December.
    2. Tirtha Pratim Dhar & Jean-Paul Chavas & Ronald W. Cotterill & Brian W. Gould, 2002. "An Econometric Analysis of Brand Level Strategic Pricing Between Coca Cola and Pepsi Inc," Food Marketing Policy Center Research Reports 065, University of Connecticut, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Charles J. Zwick Center for Food and Resource Policy.
    3. Shinn‐Shyr Wang & Kyle W. Stiegert & Tirtha P. Dhar, 2010. "Strategic Pricing Behavior under Asset Value Maximization," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 58(2), pages 151-170, June.
    4. Ryo Sakamoto & Kyle Stiegert, 2018. "Comparing competitive toughness to benchmark outcomes in retail oligopoly pricing," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 44-60, December.
    5. Victor Aguirregabiria & Margaret Slade, 2017. "Empirical models of firms and industries," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1445-1488, December.
    6. Wang, Shinn-Shyr & Stiegert, Kyle W. & Dhar, Tirtha Pratim, 2006. "Strategic Pricing Behavior under Asset Value Maximization," Staff Papers 12612, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    7. Putsis, William P., Jr., 1998. "Empirical Analysis of Competitive Interaction in Food Product Categories," Research Reports 25221, University of Connecticut, Food Marketing Policy Center.
    8. Matthew Backus & Christopher Conlon & Michael Sinkinson, 2021. "Common Ownership and Competition in the Ready-to-Eat Cereal Industry," NBER Working Papers 28350, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Dhar, Tirtha Pratim & Chavas, Jean-Paul & Gould, Brian W., 2002. "An Empirical Assessment of Endogeneity Issues In Demand Analysis for Differentiated Products," Research Reports 25227, University of Connecticut, Food Marketing Policy Center.
    10. Brito, Duarte & Pereira, Pedro & Ramalho, Joaquim J.S., 2013. "Mergers, coordinated effects and efficiency in the Portuguese non-life insurance industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 554-568.
    11. Alessandro Bonanno & Carlo Russo & Luisa Menapace, 2018. "Market power and bargaining in agrifood markets: A review of emerging topics and tools," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 6-23, December.
    12. Hovhannisyan, Vardges & Stiegert, Kyle W. & Bozic, Marin, 2013. "On Endogeneity Of Retail Market Power In An Equilibrium Analysis: A Control Function Approach," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149830, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Dongling Huang & Christian Rojas & Frank Bass, 2008. "What Happens When Demand Is Estimated With A Misspecified Model?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 809-839, December.
    14. Nevo, Aviv, 2001. "Measuring Market Power in the Ready-to-Eat Cereal Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(2), pages 307-342, March.
    15. Cotterill, Ronald W & Putsis, William P, Jr & Dhar, Ravi, 2000. "Assessing the Competitive Interaction between Private Labels and National Brands," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73(1), pages 109-137, January.
    16. Prof. Jean-Paul Chavas, 2010. "On Industry Structure and Firm Conduct in Long Run Equilibrium," Journal of Management and Strategy, Journal of Management and Strategy, Sciedu Press, vol. 1(1), pages 2-21, December.
    17. Doi, Naoshi & Ohashi, Hiroshi, 2019. "Market structure and product quality: A study of the 2002 Japanese airline merger," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 158-193.
    18. Leheyda, Nina, 2008. "Market Power, Multimarket Contact and Pricing: Some Evidence from the US Automobile Market," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-118, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    19. Cotterill, Ronald W. & Dhar, Tirtha Pratim, 2003. "Oligopoly Pricing with Differentiated Products: The Boston Fluid Milk Market Channel," Research Reports 25189, University of Connecticut, Food Marketing Policy Center.
    20. Dhar, Tirtha & Foltz, Jeremy D., 2004. "Milk by Any Other Name... Consumer Benefits from Labeled Milk," Working Papers 201547, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Food System Research Group.

    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:ags:uwfswp:201538. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dauwius.html .

    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.