This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Product innovation and imitation in a duopoly with differentiation by attributes

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Reynald-Alexandre Laurent

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper considers a probabilistic duopoly in which products are described by their specific attributes, this form of differentiation embodying the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Consumers make discrete choices and follow a random decision rule based on these attributes. A three-stage game is studied in which firms develop new attributes for their products (innovation), then may imitate the attributes of the competing product and finally compete in price. At the equilibrium, the firm selling the less appreciated product is generally incited to imitate its rival. Confronted to a threat of imitation, the benchmark firm sometimes decreases strategically its attribute index in order to diminish its unit cost of innovation and the differentiation on the market, deterring the imitation in this way. This strategy is efficient when imitation costs are sufficiently concave. In the opposite case, it is preferable for the benchmark firm to accept the imitation. Thus, according to the shape of imitation costs, equilibria with "deterrence" or with "accommodation" occur, completing the current typology of strategic responses to a threat of imitation.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.pse.ens.fr/document/wp200804.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by PSE (Ecole normale supérieure) in its series PSE Working Papers with number 2008-04.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:pse:psecon:2008-04

Contact details of provider:
Postal: 48 boulevard Jourdan - 75014 Paris
Phone: 01 43 13 63 00
Fax: 01 43 13 63 10
Email:
Web page: http://www.pse.ens.fr/
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords:

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Bonanno, Giacomo, 1988. "Oligopoly Equilibria When Firms Have Local Knowledge of Demand," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 29(1), pages 45-55, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Motta, Massimo, 1993. "Endogenous Quality Choice: Price vs. Quantity Competition," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(2), pages 113-31, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Pepall, Lynne, 1997. "Imitative Competition and Product Innovation in a Duopoly Model," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 64(254), pages 265-79, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Mansfield, Edwin & Schwartz, Mark & Wagner, Samuel, 1981. "Imitation Costs and Patents: An Empirical Study," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 91(364), pages 907-18, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Irmen, Andreas & Thisse, Jacques-Francois, 1998. "Competition in Multi-characteristics Spaces: Hotelling Was Almost Right," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 76-102, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Kelvin J. Lancaster, 1966. "A New Approach to Consumer Theory," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 74, pages 132. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Benoit, Jean-Pierre, 1985. "Innovation and Imitation in a Duopoly," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(1), pages 99-106, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Gary-Bobo, Robert J., 1989. "Cournot-Walras and locally consistent equilibria," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 10-32, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Simon P. Anderson & Régis Renault, 2006. "comparative Advertising," THEMA Working Papers 2006-18, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise. [Downloadable!]
  10. Jaskold Gabszewicz, J. & Thisse, J. -F., 1979. "Price competition, quality and income disparities," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 340-359, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Economides, Nicholas, 1993. "Quality variations in the circular model of variety-differentiated products," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 235-257, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Bonanno, Giacomo & Christopher Zeeman, E., 1985. "Limited knowledge of demand and oligopoly equilibria," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 276-283, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Gilbert, Richard J & Newbery, David M G, 1982. "Preemptive Patenting and the Persistence of Monopoly," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(3), pages 514-26, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Fudenberg, Drew & Tirole, Jean, 1984. "The Fat-Cat Effect, the Puppy-Dog Ploy, and the Lean and Hungry Look," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(2), pages 361-66, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS was sponsored from 1997 to 2002 by the Université du Québec à Montréal.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-24.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.