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Price competition with differentiated goods and incomplete product awareness

Author

Listed:
  • Charlene Cosandier

    (University of Iowa)

  • Filomena Garcia

    (Indiana University)

  • Malgorzata Knauff

    (Warsaw School of Economics)

Abstract

We investigate the effects of increased transparency on prices in the Bertrand duopoly model. Market transparency is defined as the proportion of consumers that are fully informed about the market and thus not captive to one firm. We consider two main cases of strategic interaction, prices as strategic complements and as strategic substitutes. For the former class of games, conventional wisdom concerning prices is confirmed, in that they decrease with market transparency. Consumer welfare always increases with higher transparency but changes in firms’ profits are ambiguous. For the latter class of games, an increase in market transparency may lead to an increase in one of the prices, which implies ambiguous effects on both consumer welfare and firms’ profits. An example with linear demand for differentiated products is also investigated. The results of the paper shed light on the mixed evidence concerning the effects of the Internet on retail markets and may illuminate some of the ongoing related public policy debates.

Suggested Citation

  • Charlene Cosandier & Filomena Garcia & Malgorzata Knauff, 2018. "Price competition with differentiated goods and incomplete product awareness," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 66(3), pages 681-705, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joecth:v:66:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s00199-017-1050-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s00199-017-1050-3
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    4. Schlatterer, Markus & Saur, Marc & Schmitt, Stefanie, 2019. "Horizontal product differentiation with limited attentive consumers," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203571, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Gaumont, Damien & Badra, Yassine & Kamburova, Detelina, 2023. "Market-dependent preferences, positive and negative network effects and welfare," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 143-154.
    6. Saur, Marc P. & Schlatterer, Markus G. & Schmitt, Stefanie Y., 2022. "Limited perception and price discrimination in a model of horizontal product differentiation," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 151-168.
    7. Rouskas, Evangelos, 2020. "A model of sales with a large number of sellers," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 68-70.
    8. Sovik Mukherjee & Vivekananda Mukherjee, 2023. "“Love for variety,” outside option and extensive margin of demand," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 19(3), pages 425-449, September.
    9. Rabah Amir, 2019. "Supermodularity and Complementarity in Economic Theory," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 67(3), pages 487-496, April.
    10. Karpov, Aleksandr, 2017. "Price competition and limited attention," Economics Discussion Papers 2017-89, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    11. Saur, Marc P. & Schlatterer, Markus G. & Schmitt, Stefanie Yvonne, 2019. "Horizontal product differentiation with limited attentive consumers," BERG Working Paper Series 143, Bamberg University, Bamberg Economic Research Group.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bertrand duopoly; Market transparency; Consumers awareness; Supermodular games; Strategic complements/substitutes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality

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