IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/mgtdec/v28y2007i6p553-567.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A sociological view of costs of price adjustment: contributions from grounded theory methods

Author

Listed:
  • Mark J. Zbaracki

    (The Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, NY, USA)

Abstract

Economic theory and data sometimes pose problems that cannot be addressed with existing econometric methods. For example, theories of price adjustment costs rely on variables that cannot or have not been observed. In principle, such costs can be measured, but there is little reason to expect they can be measured with existing econometric methods. I argue that the grounded theory methods developed by sociologists can be used to demonstrate the validity of price adjustment costs and to address deeper questions about how firms adjust prices. Properly matched to economic problems, grounded theory may help economists to develop better theory and better test existing theory. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark J. Zbaracki, 2007. "A sociological view of costs of price adjustment: contributions from grounded theory methods," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 553-567.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:28:y:2007:i:6:p:553-567
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.1330
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/mde.1330
    File Function: Link to full text; subscription required
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/mde.1330?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. N. Gregory Mankiw, 1985. "Small Menu Costs and Large Business Cycles: A Macroeconomic Model of Monopoly," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 100(2), pages 529-538.
    2. Dutta, Shantanu, et al, 1999. "Menu Costs, Posted Prices, and Multiproduct Retailers," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 31(4), pages 683-703, November.
    3. Mark Bergen & Daniel Levy & Sourav Ray & Paul H. Rubin & Benjamin Zeliger, 2008. "When Little Things Mean a Lot: On the Inefficiency of Item-Pricing Laws," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(2), pages 209-250, May.
    4. Julio J. Rotemberg & Garth Saloner, 1995. "Overt Interfunctional Conflict (and its Reduction Through Business Strategy)," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(4), pages 630-653, Winter.
    5. J. Konieczny, F. Rumler, 2006. "Regular Adjustment - Theory and Evidenc," Working Papers eg0055, Wilfrid Laurier University, Department of Economics, revised 2006.
    6. R. L. Hall & C. J. Hitch, 1939. "Price Theory And Business Behaviour," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 0(1), pages 12-45.
    7. Mark J. Zbaracki & Mark Bergen & Daniel Levy, 2006. "The Anatomy of a Price Cut: Discovering Organizational Sources of the Costs of Price Adjustment," Working Papers 2006-3, Bar-Ilan University, Department of Economics.
    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. Hallberg, Niklas L., 2017. "The micro-foundations of pricing strategy in industrial markets: A case study in the European packaging industry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 179-188.
    2. Mark J. Zbaracki & Mark Bergen, 2010. "When Truces Collapse: A Longitudinal Study of Price-Adjustment Routines," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(5), pages 955-972, October.
    3. Vaclav Rybacek, 2015. "Price Rigidities And The Market Process," Review of Social and Economic Issues, Romanian-American University, vol. 1(2), pages 74-83, march.
    4. Per L. Bylund & Mark D. Packard, 2022. "Subjective value in entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1243-1260, March.

    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. Levy, Daniel & Müller, Georg & Chen, Haipeng (Allan) & Bergen, Mark & Dutta, Shantanu, 2010. "Holiday Price Rigidity and Cost of Price Adjustment," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 77(305), pages 172-198.
    2. Chen, Haipeng (Allan) & Levy, Daniel & Ray, Sourav & Bergen, Mark, 2008. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment in the Small," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 728-737.
    3. Daniel Levy & Dongwon Lee & Haipeng (Allan) Chen & Robert J. Kauffman & Mark Bergen, 2011. "Price Points and Price Rigidity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1417-1431, November.
    4. Georg Müller & Mark Bergen & Shantanu Dutta & Daniel Levy, 2007. "Non-price rigidity and cost of adjustment," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(7), pages 817-832.
    5. Emmanuel Dhyne & Jerzy Konieczny & Fabio Rumler & Patrick Sevestre, 2009. "Price rigidity in the euro area - An assessment," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 380, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    6. Levy, Daniel & Snir, Avichai & Gotler, Alex & Chen, Haipeng (Allan), 2020. "Not all price endings are created equal: Price points and asymmetric price rigidity," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue forthcomi.
    7. Ray, Sourav & Snir, Avichai & Levy, Daniel, 2023. "Retail Pricing Format and Rigidity of Regular Prices," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 1-1.
    8. Alexander L. Wolman, 2007. "The frequency and costs of individual price adjustment," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 531-552.
    9. Ray, Sourav & Chen, Haipeng (Allan) & Bergen, Mark & Levy, Daniel, 2006. "Asymmetric Wholesale Pricing: Theory and Evidence," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 109-201.
    10. Ray, Sourav & Wang, Li & Levy, Daniel & Bergen, Mark, 2019. "Pricing Better," MPRA Paper 95654, University Library of Munich, Germany.
      • Daniel Levy & Mark Bergen, 2019. "Pricing Better," Working Papers 2019-07, Bar-Ilan University, Department of Economics.
      • Ray, Sourav & Wang, Li & Levy, Daniel & Bergen, Mark, 2019. "Pricing Better," MPRA Paper 95596, University Library of Munich, Germany.
      • Daniel Levy & Sourav Ray & Li Wang & Mark Bergen, 2019. "Pricing Better," Working Papers 008-19 JEL Codes: M31, E3, International School of Economics at TSU, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.
      • Ray, Sourav & Wang, Li & Levy, Daniel & Bergen, Mark, 2019. "Pricing Better," EconStor Preprints 201843, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
      • Sourav Ray & Li Wang & Daniel Levy & Mark Bergen, 2019. "Pricing Better," Working Paper series 19-16, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    11. N. Gregory Mankiw & Ricardo Reis, 2002. "Sticky Information versus Sticky Prices: A Proposal to Replace the New Keynesian Phillips Curve," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(4), pages 1295-1328.
    12. Mark Gertler & John Leahy, 2008. "A Phillips Curve with an Ss Foundation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(3), pages 533-572, June.
    13. Jens-Peter Loy & Christoph Weiss, 2002. "Staggering and synchronisation of prices in a low-inflation environment: Evidence from German food stores," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(4), pages 437-457.
    14. Fabiani, S. & Druant, M. & Hernando, I. & Kwapil, C. & Landau, B. & Loupias, C. & Martins, F. & Mathä, T. & Sabbatini, R. & Stahl, H. & Stockman, A., 2005. "The Pricing Behaviour of Firms in the Euro Area: New Survey Evidence," Working papers 135, Banque de France.
    15. Levy, Daniel, 2013. "Discussion of "Change at the Checkout: Tracing the Impact of a Process Innovation" by Emek Basker," MPRA Paper 52605, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Claus Thustrup Kreiner, 2002. "Do the New Keynesian Microfoundations Rationalise Stabilisation Policy?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(479), pages 384-401, April.
    17. Daniel Levy & Haipeng Allan Chen & Sourav Ray & Mark Bergen, 2004. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment "in the Small:" An Implication of Rational Inattention," Macroeconomics 0407012, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 11 May 2005.
    18. Rajesh Chakrabarti & Barry Scholnick, 2007. "The mechanics of price adjustment: new evidence on the (un)importance of menu costs," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(7), pages 657-668.
    19. repec:pri:cepsud:185goldberg is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Edward S. Knotek, 2010. "The roles of price points and menu costs in price rigidity," Research Working Paper RWP 10-18, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    21. Mark Bergen & Daniel Levy & Sourav Ray & Paul H. Rubin & Benjamin Zeliger, 2008. "When Little Things Mean a Lot: On the Inefficiency of Item-Pricing Laws," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(2), pages 209-250, May.

    More about this item

    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:wly:mgtdec:v:28:y:2007:i:6:p:553-567. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/7976 .

    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.