Approximation algorithms for product framing and pricing

Gallego, Guillermo, Li, Anran ORCID: 0000-0001-7001-2240, Truong, Van-Anh and Wang, Xinshang (2020) Approximation algorithms for product framing and pricing. Operations Research, 68 (1). 134 - 160. ISSN 0030-364X

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Abstract

We propose one of the first models of “product framing” and pricing. Product framing refers to the way consumer choice is influenced by how the products are framed or displayed. We present a model in which a set of products is displayed or framed into a set of virtual web pages. We assume that consumers consider only products in the top pages with different consumers willing to see different numbers of pages. Consumers select a product, if any, from these pages following a general choice model. We show that the product-framing problem is NP-hard. We derive algorithms with guaranteed performance relative to an optimal algorithm under reasonable assumptions. Our algorithms are fast and easy to implement. We also present structural results and design algorithms for pricing under framing effects for the multinomial logit model. We show that, for profit maximization problems, at optimality, products are displayed in descending order of their value gap and in ascending order of their markups.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://pubsonline.informs.org/journal/opre
Additional Information:	© 2020 INFORMS
Divisions:	Management
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Date Deposited:	09 Oct 2019 07:54
Last Modified:	12 Nov 2024 00:08
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/101983

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