IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v150y2022icp451-460.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Value creation in an algorithmic world: Towards an ethics of dynamic pricing

Author

Listed:
  • Nunan, Daniel
  • Di Domenico, MariaLaura

Abstract

Choice of pricing strategy plays a central role in value creation and the effective functioning of markets. Shifts in technology and the growing availability of data are facilitating ever more innovative forms of pricing strategy. Within the emerging literature on pricing ethics, there is a gap in our understanding of the specific challenges of algorithmically generated dynamic pricing. Increasing pricing automation shifts the managerial focus from the selection of prices to the choice of algorithms. This paper expands the literature on pricing ethics by conceptualizing the ethical challenges raised by the contemporary use of dynamic pricing. We propose a governance model for algorithmically generated dynamic pricing, taking into account the role of the customer as a stakeholder in value generation.

Suggested Citation

  • Nunan, Daniel & Di Domenico, MariaLaura, 2022. "Value creation in an algorithmic world: Towards an ethics of dynamic pricing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 451-460.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:150:y:2022:i:c:p:451-460
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.06.032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296322005689
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.06.032?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. Haseeb Ahmed Shabbir & Hala Maalouf & Michele Griessmair & Nazan Colmekcioglu & Pervaiz Akhtar, 2019. "Exploring Perceptions of Advertising Ethics: An Informant-Derived Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(3), pages 727-744, October.
    2. Alessandro Acquisti & Hal R. Varian, 2005. "Conditioning Prices on Purchase History," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 367-381, May.
    3. Zwolinski, Matt, 2008. "The Ethics of Price Gouging," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(3), pages 347-378, July.
    4. Zach Y. Brown & Alexander MacKay, 2023. "Competition in Pricing Algorithms," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 109-156, May.
    5. Varian, Hal R, 1985. "Price Discrimination and Social Welfare," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(4), pages 870-875, September.
    6. Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius & Joost Poort, 2017. "Erratum to: Online Price Discrimination and EU Data Privacy Law," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 521-521, December.
    7. Shantanu Dutta & Mark J. Zbaracki & Mark Bergen, 2003. "Pricing process as a capability: a resource‐based perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(7), pages 615-630, July.
    8. Elegido, Juan M., 2011. "The Ethics of Price Discrimination," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(4), pages 633-660, October.
    9. Allcott, Hunt, 2011. "Rethinking real-time electricity pricing," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 820-842.
    10. Anna Priester & Thomas Robbert & Stefan Roth, 2020. "A special price just for you: effects of personalized dynamic pricing on consumer fairness perceptions," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(2), pages 99-112, April.
    11. Verhoef, Peter C. & Broekhuizen, Thijs & Bart, Yakov & Bhattacharya, Abhi & Qi Dong, John & Fabian, Nicolai & Haenlein, Michael, 2021. "Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 889-901.
    12. David P. Byrne & Nicolas de Roos, 2019. "Learning to Coordinate: A Study in Retail Gasoline," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(2), pages 591-619, February.
    13. Kelly L. Haws & William O. Bearden, 2006. "Dynamic Pricing and Consumer Fairness Perceptions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 33(3), pages 304-311, October.
    14. Joshua A. Gerlick & Stephan M. Liozu, 2020. "Ethical and legal considerations of artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making in personalized pricing," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(2), pages 85-98, April.
    15. Xuanming Su, 2007. "Intertemporal Pricing with Strategic Customer Behavior," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(5), pages 726-741, May.
    16. Kannan, P.K. & Li, Hongshuang “Alice”, 2017. "Digital marketing: A framework, review and research agenda," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 22-45.
    17. Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius & Joost Poort, 2017. "Online Price Discrimination and EU Data Privacy Law," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 347-366, September.
    18. Patricia M. Danzon, 2018. "Differential Pricing of Pharmaceuticals: Theory, Evidence and Emerging Issues," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 36(12), pages 1395-1405, December.
    19. Vaidyanathan, Rajiv & Aggarwal, Praveen, 2003. "Who is the fairest of them all? An attributional approach to price fairness perceptions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 56(6), pages 453-463, June.
    20. Garbarino, Ellen & Maxwell, Sarah, 2010. "Consumer response to norm-breaking pricing events in e-commerce," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(9-10), pages 1066-1072, September.
    21. Netessine, Serguei, 2006. "Dynamic pricing of inventory/capacity with infrequent price changes," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 174(1), pages 553-580, October.
    22. G. Tomas M. Hult & Jeannette A. Mena & O. C. Ferrell & Linda Ferrell, 2011. "Stakeholder marketing: a definition and conceptual framework," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 1(1), pages 44-65, March.
    23. Moon, Sangkil & Voss, Glenn, 2009. "How do price range shoppers differ from reference price point shoppers?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 31-38, January.
    24. Koehn, Daryl & Wilbratte, Barry, 2012. "A Defense of a Thomistic Concept of the Just Price," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(3), pages 501-526, July.
    25. Peter Seele & Claus Dierksmeier & Reto Hofstetter & Mario D. Schultz, 2021. "Mapping the Ethicality of Algorithmic Pricing: A Review of Dynamic and Personalized Pricing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 697-719, May.
    26. Marios Koufaris, 2002. "Applying the Technology Acceptance Model and Flow Theory to Online Consumer Behavior," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 13(2), pages 205-223, June.
    27. Ningyuan Chen & Guillermo Gallego, 2019. "Welfare Analysis of Dynamic Pricing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(1), pages 139-151, January.
    28. Emilio Calvano & Giacomo Calzolari & Vincenzo Denicolò & Sergio Pastorello, 2019. "Algorithmic Pricing What Implications for Competition Policy?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 55(1), pages 155-171, August.
    29. Juan Elegido, 2009. "The Just Price: Three Insights from the Salamanca School," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 29-46, November.
    30. Joseph E Harrington, 2018. "Developing Competition Law For Collusion By Autonomous Artificial Agents," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(3), pages 331-363.
    31. Abraham, Rene & Schneider, Johannes & vom Brocke, Jan, 2019. "Data governance: A conceptual framework, structured review, and research agenda," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 424-438.
    32. Goutam Dutta & Krishnendranath Mitra, 2017. "A literature review on dynamic pricing of electricity," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 68(10), pages 1131-1145, October.
    33. Wedad Elmaghraby & P{i}nar Keskinocak, 2003. "Dynamic Pricing in the Presence of Inventory Considerations: Research Overview, Current Practices, and Future Directions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(10), pages 1287-1309, October.
    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. Yilin Liang & Yuping Hu & Dongjun Luo & Qi Zhu & Qingxuan Chen & Chunmei Wang, 2023. "Distributed Dynamic Pricing Strategy Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach in a Presale Mechanism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Jianjun Li & Xiaodi Xu & Yu Yang, 2023. "Research on the Regulation of Algorithmic Price Discrimination Behaviour of E-Commerce Platform Based on Tripartite Evolutionary Game," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Kopalle, Praveen K. & Pauwels, Koen & Akella, Laxminarayana Yashaswy & Gangwar, Manish, 2023. "Dynamic pricing: Definition, implications for managers, and future research directions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(4), pages 580-593.

    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. Peter Seele & Claus Dierksmeier & Reto Hofstetter & Mario D. Schultz, 2021. "Mapping the Ethicality of Algorithmic Pricing: A Review of Dynamic and Personalized Pricing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 697-719, May.
    2. Hufnagel, Gerrit & Schwaiger, Manfred & Weritz, Louisa, 2022. "Seeking the perfect price: Consumer responses to personalized price discrimination in e-commerce," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 346-365.
    3. Jerod Coker & Jean-Manuel Izaret, 2021. "Progressive Pricing: The Ethical Case for Price Personalization," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(2), pages 387-398, October.
    4. Richards, Timothy J. & Liaukonyte, Jura & Streletskaya, Nadia A., 2016. "Personalized pricing and price fairness," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 138-153.
    5. Joshua A. Gerlick & Stephan M. Liozu, 2020. "Ethical and legal considerations of artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making in personalized pricing," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(2), pages 85-98, April.
    6. Keller, Alisa & Vogelsang, Mila & Totzek, Dirk, 2022. "How displaying price discounts can mitigate negative customer reactions to dynamic pricing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 277-291.
    7. Pade, Robin & Feurer, Sven, 2022. "The mitigating role of nostalgia for consumer price unfairness perceptions in response to disadvantageous personalized pricing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 277-287.
    8. Richards, Timothy & Liaukonyte, Jura & Nadia, Streletskya, 2016. "Personalized Pricing and Price Fairness," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235809, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Anna Priester & Thomas Robbert & Stefan Roth, 2020. "A special price just for you: effects of personalized dynamic pricing on consumer fairness perceptions," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(2), pages 99-112, April.
    10. Werner, Tobias, 2021. "Algorithmic and human collusion," DICE Discussion Papers 372, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    11. Juan Elegido, 2015. "The Just Price as the Price Obtainable in an Open Market," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 557-572, September.
    12. Pizzi, Gabriele & Vannucci, Virginia & Shukla, Yupal & Aiello, Gaetano, 2022. "Privacy concerns and justice perceptions with the disclosure of biometric versus behavioral data for personalized pricing tell me who you are, I’ll tell you how much you pay. Consumers’ fairness and p," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 420-432.
    13. Alderighi, Marco & Gaggero, Alberto A. & Piga, Claudio A., 2022. "Hidden prices with fixed inventory: Evidence from the airline industry," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 42-61.
    14. Wamsler, Julia & Natter, Martin & Algesheimer, René, 2022. "Transitioning to dynamic prices: Should pricing authority remain with the company or be delegated to the service employees instead?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1476-1488.
    15. Bita Hajihashemi & Amin Sayedi & Jeffrey D. Shulman, 2022. "The Perils of Personalized Pricing with Network Effects," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(3), pages 477-500, May.
    16. Kopalle, Praveen K. & Pauwels, Koen & Akella, Laxminarayana Yashaswy & Gangwar, Manish, 2023. "Dynamic pricing: Definition, implications for managers, and future research directions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(4), pages 580-593.
    17. Martin Spann & Bernd Skiera, 2020. "Dynamische Preisgestaltung in der digitalisierten Welt [Dynamic Pricing in a Digitized World]," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 321-342, September.
    18. Sayanti SHAW, 2018. "Role Of Need For Closure On Perceived Price Fairness," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 12(1), pages 797-806, November.
    19. Ham, Sung H. & He, Chuan & Zhang, Dan, 2022. "The promise and peril of dynamic targeted pricing," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 1150-1165.
    20. Jodie Ferguson & Pam Ellen & William Bearden, 2014. "Procedural and Distributive Fairness: Determinants of Overall Price Fairness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 217-231, May.

    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:eee:jbrese:v:150:y:2022:i:c:p:451-460. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    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.