Competitive pricing strategies in social networks

A-Tier
Journal: RAND Journal of Economics
Year: 2018
Volume: 49
Issue: 3
Pages: 672-705

Authors (3)

Ying‐Ju Chen (not in RePEc) Yves Zenou (Monash University) Junjie Zhou (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We study pricing strategies of competing firms selling heterogeneous products to consumers. Goods are substitutes and there are network externalities between neighboring consumers. In equilibrium, firms price discriminate based on the network positions and charge lower prices to more central consumers. We also show that, under some conditions, firms' equilibrium profits decrease when either the network becomes denser or network effects increase. In contrast, consumers always benefit from being more connected to each other. We determine the optimal network structure and compare uniform pricing and discriminatory pricing from the perspectives of firms and consumers.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:randje:v:49:y:2018:i:3:p:672-705
Journal Field
Industrial Organization
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-29