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PRICING STRATEGIES7649-001 Spring 2014 EMBA Course Syllabus – Updated December 1, 2014Location:TBDTime:TBDProfessor:Brett R. GordonContact info:Email:brg2114@columbia.eduOffice:511 UrisPhone:212.854.7864Office Hours:By appointment only via email.Teaching Fani Dimitriadi (fdimitriadi14@gsb.columbia.edu)Assistants:Taier Gao (tgao14@gsb.colubmai.edu)IntroductionThis course prepares students to address strategic and tactical pricing issues and to identify profit-boosting changes in pricing practices across a range of professional contexts – as management consultants, product managers, entrepreneurs, business unit managers, and M&A advisors.Pricing presents managers with one of their most powerful levers for maximizing profits and shareholder value. However, this value often lies untapped within many organizations. Managers often lack a clear understanding of how to improve on historical pricing practices within their companies and industries and how to apply such knowledge to new product settings.The course will draw on a mixture of analytic marketing techniques, marketing strategy, statistical analysis, and economic theory to describe approaches that are useful for optimal pricing decisions. Some examples of questions we will address in the course: How does a firm determine the price for a new product? How does a firm assess whether the current price is appropriate? What is value pricing? Which price segmentation strategy is optimal? How can a firm avoid a price war? The course will use a mix of lectures, case discussions, in-class simulations, and guest speakers. Mini-cases and problems will also be employed to make students apply their learning to practical situations. The first six weeks of the course will establish a foundation for effective pricing decisions by teaching key economic, analytical and behavioral concepts associated with understanding customer value, willingness-to-pay, and demand estimation. The rest of the course will (a) introduce students to advanced pricing techniques that aim to create additional value, including segmented pricing, nonlinear pricing, pricing structures, and promotions and (b) highlight practical applications of these approaches within a variety of specific industry contexts.Reading MaterialsThe course has a mixture of required and optional reading assignments in the form of articles and cases. I will assume that students have done the required reading for each class, have analyzed assigned case materials, and are prepared to discuss them. The optional readings in the class-by-class plan aim to give students additional depth on topics of interest – I might present key points from these in the class, but students are not required to have reviewed the optional reading.All required materials are included in the course reading packet. I will post all optional material on Canvas in advance of class.The textbook for the course is:The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing, by Nagle, Hogan, and Zale, 5th Ed, 2010. (NHZ)The following books are mentioned solely as supplemental reading:Pricing and Revenue Optimization, R. Phillips, Stanford Business Books, 2005.Price Theory and Applications, P. Pashigian, McGraw-Hill, 1995.SoftwareThe course uses Excel and the Data Analysis and Solver add-ins to conduct regression and other statistical analyses. You are free, however, to conduct analysis using whatever software you prefer.Policy on Laptops, Cell phones, and Other DevicesI strongly discourage you from using laptop computers or tablets during the class. Even though you may prefer to use these devices for taking notes, they tend to create more distraction than they are worth. Please refrain from using cell phones and other small electronic devices during class.Student TeamsStudents are asked to form teams of 3 students to work on the case analyses and final project. You should form a group as quickly as possible. If you need help in forming a team, let me know in a timely manner so I can facilitate communication with others. Groups with more than three students are not permitted (no exceptions).GradingGrades will be based on four areas:1. Class participation:24%2. Three individual short assignments (SA): 7% each, total = 21%3. One individual case write-up (IW): 15% each, total = 15%4. One group case write-ups (GW): 15% each, total = 15%5. Course Project (team):25% TOTAL 100%Each of the grading components is described in detail below.Class Participation and AttendanceYou are invited to highlight insightful linkages between class material and your past experience as a professional and a consumer, to raise challenging questions and issues related to the pricing topics being reviewed, and to participate actively in discussion of problems and cases. It will be assumed that students have read and analyzed the case materials and problems assigned to each class and are prepared to discuss them.Students find in-class discussions a valuable part of the course, and effective discussions are only possible if everyone is prepared. You should come to class prepared to defend your analysis. To create incentives to do this, I may randomly select (i.e. cold call) students to answer questions. You should view class participation both as an opportunity to ask questions to enhance your understanding as well as an opportunity to demonstrate your critical analysis of the material.Attendance in class is required. We will spend a great deal of time engaged in class discussion, which means that by missing class you will miss an important part of the learning experience. To help me with attendance, a sign-in sheet will be passed around at the beginning of each class. Classes start on time and lateness may count as an absence. If you anticipate missing a class, please let me know in advance (grave illnesses, family emergencies, or unavoidable job-related conflicts will be excused). My policy is that if you miss more than 4.5 hours of class time (even pre-notified), your class participation grade may be adversely affected. Short AssignmentsThere are three short assignments in the course. All are to be done individually. Most involve answering questions relating to a case assignment or other readings. These assignments will be made available later on Canvas.Case Write-upsThe due dates for the cases and assignments are given in the Class Schedule section of this document. You will complete one case with your group (GW) and one individually (IW). Both cases are due at the beginning of the class where that case will be discussed. The following cases will be due:Keurig at Home (IW)XM Satellite Radio (GW)Each full case write-up must not exceed three pages (12-point Times New Roman, single-spaced, one-inch margins). This limit does not include exhibits such as tables or graphs. If you need more than three pages, then you are probably including too much information in your solution. Assume the reader is familiar with the case; do not summarize or restate more of the case than necessary. The questions for each case will be posted to Canvas. All other cases are covered through the short assignments or with preparation questions listed in the detailed course schedule. You only need to answer these questions in the case write-up. In addressing the questions, please restrict your focus to information in the case. There are often multiple ways to answer a question. Do not be concerned with getting the “right” answer, but whichever answer you choose should be adequately supported by the facts of the case and any further assumptions you make (which should be made clear to the reader).Course ProjectYour team will complete a course project. The goal of the project is to apply the concepts from the course to a real pricing problem, either one created by the team or an opportunity faced by a real organization (potentially your own). I include a set of suggested project ideas after this section, but you are free to choose your own topic. If you do, please discuss it with me well in advance.Timeline and DeliverablesA one-page optional proposal describing the topic, specific goals, and proposed project plan is due on Friday, February 28, 2014. The goal of the proposal is to help ensure that you choose an appropriate problem for the project. The outline should specifically address why this is an interesting problem (see below). The outline is completely for your benefit and is not graded. I will, however, provide written feedback to projects, especially those that appear to be in trouble. The final deliverables are due at the beginning of the last class on Saturday, April 12, 2012. The final deliverables are in the form of PowerPoint slides and an in-class presentation. There is no formal project write-up. That is, all your motivation, analysis, and recommendations must be contained within the presentation. The presentation should be 15 to 20 minutes long and we will allocate an additional 4 to 6 minutes for questions and comments from the class. I strongly encourage you to include additional supporting charts, data, or analysis in an Appendix. The Appendix may contain details that are unnecessary to discuss in the presentation but which are important for me to consider in evaluating the project. Project Requirements and EvaluationThe primary goal of the project is to apply the ideas covered in class. Each team should select an interesting problem and analyze the pricing decision faced by a firm. The pricing problem could be one currently or previously faced at work. The project will be evaluated on the following criteria:Is the project interesting?In evaluating the interestingness of the project, I will consider the following general criteria:Is this problem of interest to a manager in this particular field?Your target audience for the project is a manager in the relevant area and your analysis should help inform this person’s decision. Timeliness of the problem will be one relevant criterion.Why is this pricing problem non-trivial?The answer to the pricing problem should not obvious based on some existing pricing policy. Among the alternative strategies a firm could use, there should be some level of support for at least two strategies. If there is only one strategy that makes reasonable sense, then the question may be too simple for the project. For example, in the auto industry some firms use no-haggle pricing, some firms negotiate, and others use a mix of both strategies. An existing car dealership may want to examine their current pricing policy relative to these options. Each policy has its own set of pros and cons, and the best strategy is likely to depend on a number of dealership- and market-specific factors.What information (e.g., data, articles, etc.) is available to support the analysis?Actual pricing and sales data are not required, but one can clearly make a stronger case with this data. Public sources of data (e.g., newspapers, magazines, financial disclosures, marketing research reports, etc.) are sufficient provided they contain some detailed information about specific firms and the industry. You may also consider using a survey or interviews to collect additional data. You can easily survey students in class using Qualtrics or on campus. I understand the student population is unlikely to be representative of your target population, but this is OK. In many situations, students have also conducted interviews with managers to collect data. A good source of interesting pricing problems is projects from your own work experience. If the corresponding pricing data are confidential, it can easily be disguised in some fashion.AnalysisIn general, your analysis should involve taking concepts covered in the course, applying them to the problem at hand, and developing a sensible pricing strategy. You are free to use additional tools (e.g., regression, break-even analysis, conjoint, etc.) as part of your analysis. Your analysis should cover, but not be limited to, the following points:Customers and demandWho are the customers? Potential customers? Who are the competitor’s customers?SegmentationPrice sensitivityCompetitionWho are the competitors? Our relative strengths and weaknesses?Costs (if you can get these)What is this firms’ cost structure (variable vs. fixed)? What are other firms’ costs?ResourcesWhat resources does this firm bring to the table?Opportunities for price customizationIntegration of pricing policy with other elements of the marketing mixImplementation – logistics, organizational issues, sales forceOverall, I am looking for a clear and compelling analysis of the problem with conclusions that are well supported by facts and logical reasoning. You should advocate a specific policy and provide evidence to support your position; policies that do not commit to a specific strategy are strongly discouraged. A thorough analysis would also clearly indicate why alternative policies are dominated by the recommended policy. Topic Ideas for the Final ProjectProduct lifecycles have shrunk in recent years due to rapidly shifting customer preferences, product proliferation and technological advancements. Pricing is a particularly important and complex issue for short-lifecycle products – i.e., products that become obsolete within 6 months – 2 years of introduction. Profile the pricing practices at a company that operates in a short-lifecycle environment – e.g., technology, fashion, entertainment or information contexts. How does the company adjust prices as the product evolves from one stage to the next, as the demand/supply balance changes, or as customers’ value for the product changes? Where within the organization are markdown/promotion vs. introductory price decisions made? What role do channel partners play in managing price across the lifecycle? How are customer expectations managed vis-à-vis price changes? What practical issues does the company face in implementing advanced pricing practices? What opportunities do you see for further improving pricing practices?Some industries are experiencing major forces of change that are leading to the adoption of new pricing practices. Examples of such forces include deregulation, entry of low-cost competition, technological innovation, and transition from one stage to the next of the industry/product lifecycle. Identify an industry that is witnessing such changes in pricing caused by environmental forces. Profile the changes in pricing that are being driven in the industry and the strategies being adopted by different players. Who is being successful at capturing additional value – across competitors, and across the value chain? Is the industry converging to a stable new pricing regime or is it moving into relatively anarchic conditions? What factors are causing the industry to evolve in this fashion? What efforts are industry players making to enhance their organizational effectiveness to price in the new environment? Identify a company that has a reputation in its industry for being smart at pricing. Profile its pricing practices – strategy, organization, implementation. Why has its competition not been able to mimic its success? How much value is smart pricing adding? What insights can other businesses (beyond this industry) draw from this company? Identify a situation where a company or an industry moved from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to pricing to a segmented pricing approach. What triggered the shift? How successful has it been? What practical challenges came up in making the transition and how were these addressed? How much value has been created by the shift to segmented pricing? What integrated strategies across the 4P’s were needed to implement the change? What other improvements can you suggest in how the company/industry should approach pricing? Pricing optimization systems are gaining steam in the retail sector. Demand-Tech, Khi-Metrics, ProfitLogic and Manugistics are among the players that have introduced systems to help retailers optimize pricing for countless product categories. Pick a retail segment and analyze the impact pricing optimization has – and will – have on the industry. How much value is being created? What are the risks, and how could these be mitigated? How could you tell if this is the right time to invest in this capability or not for a player in this segment? What aspects of pricing will pricing optimization automate, and where is managerial involvement still critical? What do you foresee the scope and impact of pricing optimization to be in 5 to 10 years within this segment?Managing pricing coherently across channels is a particularly tough challenge for brands that are distributed via multiple channels – common problems include gray markets, and the conflict between a direct channel, such as the web, with indirect channel partners. Identify a company that has actively worked on addressing pricing challenges across channels. What factors were behind these challenges (e.g., self-interested behavior of channel partners)? How did the company address these issues? How successful has its approach been? Are there other actions it could have taken that you would recommend? What insights can this offer to other businesses in the same or other industries?Note that the questions in each topic are meant to be suggestive, not exhaustive. You should feel free to add additional analyses/ areas of discussion within the chosen theme – the key is to unearth insightful findings and conclusions founded on real-world observations and linkages with pricing concepts. The quality of learning that team presentations generate is substantially shaped by the richness of data – qualitative and quantitative – they acquire and the rigor with which they support their conclusions with facts. Teams are encouraged to be creative in identifying and tapping data sources, such as press articles, analyst reports, market research studies, customer interviews, and interviews with industry participants (including channels).Connections with the CoreThis class builds upon the knowledge from the marketing core course on the fundamentals of pricing and on the development of optimal price structures. The course also relies on your knowledge of statistics and decision models. In particular, your knowledge of regression and optimization, and the skills that you acquired in using Excel for this topic will be valuable in dealing with data and deriving optimal price structures. SCHEDULE OVERVIEWSessionTopicCases DiscussedDue 1 – Jan 10Course IntroductionValue Pricing FrameworkColonial Homes2 – Jan 11Application of Value PricingCosts for PricingBehavioral PricingCurled MetalsWendy’s ChiliSA1: Curled Metals3 – Jan 24Price and Promotion Response using SurveysConjoint and Market SimulationsSpringfield Nor’easters4 – Jan 25Price and Promotion Response using Aggregate Data5 – Feb 7Price and Promotion Response using Individual-Level DataRevenue Management (Guest speaker)Tupelo Medical DevicesSA2: Regression6 – Feb 21Price ExperimentsOverview of Price Customization7 – Feb 22Pricing Complements and Customer Lifetime ValueBundled and Nonlinear PricingKeurig at HomeIW: Keurig at HomeProject Proposal (optionally due on 2/28/13)8 – Mar 8Price Customization with Retail and Trade PromotionsCulinarian CookwareSA3: Culinarian Cookware9 – Mar 22Managing Competitive Dynamics10 – Apr 4Guest SpeakerNegotiated B2B PricingPricing PredicamentFabtek (B)11 – Apr 5Integrative CaseLegal Issues in PricingCourse SummaryXM Satellite (A)GW: XM Satellite (A)12 – Apr 12Project PresentationsFinal ProjectNotes: SA# indicates a short assignment to be done individuallyIW indicates a case write-up to be done individuallyGW indicates a case write-up to be done in your project groupModule I: Understanding Customers and DemandSession 1Course Introduction and Value Pricing FrameworkJan 10OverviewWe will begin with a discussion of the Colonial Homes case. We will then focus on the role of pricing in value creation and discuss the increasing importance of pricing in today’s markets. The second half of the lecture will focus on reviewing the concept of economic value to the consumer (EVC) and its various applications.Required ReadingCase: Colonial Homes“Executives Zero in on Price,” WSJ, Sept. 27, 2010.“The Price is Really Right,” Business Week, March 2003.Optional Reading“Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets”, HBR, 2006.NHZ: skim Chapter 1. Preparation QuestionsRegarding Colonial Homes:Suppose that Colonial stayed with Davey’s as their sole supplier. Should Colonial change their prices? If so, by how much? Be able to defend your decision with some analysis.Should Colonial stay with Davey’s or switch to Northland Build-It?How might the concept of EVC differ in B2C vs. B2B settings?Session 2 Application of WTP, Costs, and Behavioral PricingJan 11OverviewWe will begin with a discussion of the Curled Metals case. The case will highlight the importance of choosing a pricing strategy that is consistent with the firm’s overall marketing strategy. Next we will briefly cover the relevant costs to consider when making pricing decisions in the short and long-run.The second half of the session will explore behavioral pricing topics. This modifies our existing framework where consumers focus on the economic value they receive from a product to one where they focus on their perceived economic value. The discussion will cover loss aversion, which arises from prospect theory, the roles of pricing cues and framing effects, and potential pitfalls to consider when using these strategies to influence consumers’ perceptions and actions. Required ReadingCase: Curled Metals Inc.Case: Chili at Wendy’s.“Are we making money yet?” Inc., July 1996.“Amazon Pays a Price for Marketing Test," LA Times, Oct 2, 2000.“Variable-Price Coke Machine Being Tested,” NYT, Oct. 28, 1999.Optional Reading“Note on Behavioral Pricing,” HBS 9-599-114.NHZ: Chapter 2 (pp. 17-37) and Chapter 9 (pp. 181-192).Preparation QuestionsRead the Wendy’s Chili mini-case and prepare the question at the end of the text.Session 3Price and Promotion Response Using Surveys and Conjoint and Market SimulationsJan 24OverviewWe will start with an overview of the primary methods used to estimate a customer’s willingness-to-pay (economic value to the customer), which serves as a foundation for most analysis we will conduct.The first set of methods is especially appropriate when you are pricing for the first time because they do not rely on existing sales data. We begin with a discussion of using surveys to recover WTP, the appropriate design of such surveys, and a discussion of a survey used to recover WTP in the Springfield Nor’easters case. The concept of the price elasticity of demand is central to this analysis.In the second half, we will discuss conjoint analysis as a more structured alternative to standard survey techniques. We will start with a brief review of conjoint (which you learned in the marketing core), and quickly move to a discussion of how conjoint can be used to simulate various market scenarios. Required ReadingCase: Springfield Nor’easters.“Conjoint Analysis: A Manager’s Guide,” R. Dolan, HBS, 1990.NHZ: Chapter 12 (pp. 282-298).Preparation QuestionsRemind yourself of the formula for price elasticity of demand. In words, what does it mean?For the Springfield Nor’easters:Evaluate the research survey undertaken by the League Sports Association and by Larry Buckingham. Consider each step in the process that led to the findings of the survey. What concerns (if any) do you have about the various components of the survey? What caveats (if any) might you want to highlight in your analysis?What do you consider to be the key findings of the research survey? Specifically, consider what Buckingham learned about a prospective customer profile, pricing, and single- versus season-ticket packages.Session 4Price and Promotion Response using Aggregate DataJan 25OverviewThis session and the next one focus on methods that help improve existing pricing practices. These require some type of past sales information to learn about the WTP of your customers. In particular, we will study how to estimate price elasticities and cross-price elasticities using regression, including how to control for various other factors. We will also discuss how to use these estimates in a price optimization. Required Reading(none)Optional ReadingNHZ: Chapter 12 (pp. 270-282).Preparation QuestionsReview the basics of regression analysis and how to run a regression in Excel (using the Data Analysis add-in).Review the basics of hypothesis testing (e.g., standard errors, t-statistics, p-values, statistical significance, etc.).Session 5Price and Promotion Response using Individual-Data and Revenue Management Feb 7OverviewIn the first half of the session, we will explore how to model individual-level data on consumer choices via a discrete choice model. Such data is especially common in B2B markets where you have access to customer-level account data, as well as in many online settings.In the second half, we will be joined by John Kaufman, who is Executive Vice President of Business Operations at Clear Channel. He will discuss the role of revenue management in the hotel, airlines, and radio advertisement industries, drawing on his rich work experiences at American Airlines, Priceline, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and Extended Stay Hotels.Required ReadingCase: Tupelo Medical Devices “The Dynamics of Pricing Tickets for Broadway Shows,” NYT, Jan 13, 2005.Optional Reading“A Step-by-Step Guide to Smart Business Experiments,” Anderson and Simester (2011), HBR.“Big Retailers Put Testing to the Test,” CFO, November 2010.“An Introduction to Revenue Management,” van Ryzin & Talluri, Operations Research, 2005.Preparation QuestionsNote there are no preparation questions for the Tupelo Medical Devices case. We will, however, discuss the case during class.Module II: Designing Price StructuresSession 6Price Experiments and Overview of Price Customization andFeb 21OverviewIn the first half, we will learn how and why firms are increasingly using experiments to learn about the best pricing strategies. An exercise will be distributed in class.The second half will begin our study of segmented pricing strategies. We will study how firms can benefit from such segmentation and the numerous techniques that are useful for discriminating among customers.Required Reading “EDLP, Hi-Lo, and Margin Arithmetic,” by Stephen Hoch, Xavier Dreze, Mary Purk (1994), Journal of Marketing.“They're Watching You,” Economist, Oct 16, 2003.Optional ReadingNHZ: Chapter 2 (pp. 38-46) and Chapter 3 (pp. 47-70). “Victoria’s Secret May Be That Men Get a Better Deal”, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 3, 1996.Preparation QuestionsAs you read “EDLP, Hi-Lo, and Margin Arithmetic,” consider the following:How did they implement the experiment?How do they test EDLP versus Hi-Lo pricing?How do they obtain a simple elasticity based on the experiment?What are some of the problems they tried to address through the experimental design?Session 7Pricing Complements and Customer Lifetime Valueand Bundled/Nonlinear PricingFeb 22OverviewIn the first half, we will discuss how to price product lines in the particular setting of complementary. The context will be the Keurig at Home case. In the second half, we will study how to design bundles and how to set nonlinear pricing schedules.Required ReadingCase: Keurig at Home: Managing a New Product Launch.“Why Cable Companies Bundle Their Channels,” The New Yorker, Jan. 25, 2010.Session 8Price Customization with Retail and Trade PromotionsMar 8OverviewWe will discuss how firms can use price promotions to manage prices in the short term. We will study the different forms of sales promotions and how these impact category purchasing, brand choices and store choices. We will also discuss the case Culinarian Cookware to establish a framework for analyzing the impact of sales promotions. We will also study the role of markdowns in retailing and the pros and cons of using EDLP and Hi/Low strategies in retail settings.Required ReadingCase: Culinarian Cookware.“Is Groupon Ruining Retail?” NYT Mar. 16, 2011.“Competing Against Free,” HBR June 2011.“When Freemium Fails,” WSJ, Aug. 22, 2012.Optional Reading“Trade Promotion: Essential to Selling through Resellers,” Ailawadi, Farris, and Shames, Sloan Management Review, Fall 1999.Session 9Managing Competitive DynamicsMar 22OverviewIn this session we will discuss price wars, which destroy a significant amount of value for all firms involved. We will cover several strategies that firms use to avoid price wars and how to escape them should your firm fall into one. Required Reading “Airlines Can Offer Lessons for Online Newspapers,” Gordon, , Feb. 23, 2010. “Priced to Go: The Amazon/Wal-Mart Price War,” Surowiecki, The New Yorker, Nov. 9, 2009.“A Lesson in Beer Pricing,” WSJ, January 31, 2013.“U.S. Sues to Block Big Beer Merger,” WSJ, January 31, 2013.Optional ReadingNHZ: Chapter 11.Preparation QuestionsThe airline industry has been extremely successful (from a profit standpoint) in ushering in new pricing practices. What behaviors or characteristics of the industry have helped produce this success?Session 10Negotiating B2B Pricing and Guest SpeakerApr 4OverviewIn the first half, we will explore pricing issues in B2B contexts. We will discuss how firms can target prices based on past history of purchasing. We will also study how to structure and manage price negotiations, using the cases, Fabtek (B) and “The Case of the Pricing Predicament”. Next we will hear from Alan Fortier, the founder of Fortier and Associates, a pricing consultancy. Alan will share his nearly 30 years of experience working in pricing.Required ReadingCase: FabTek (B).Case: The Case of the Pricing Predicament.“The Steve Jobs Emails That Show How to Win a Hard-Nosed Negotiation,” Business Insider (2013).Optional Reading“Airbus and Boeing Duke it Out to Win Lucrative Iberia Deal,” WSJ, Mar 10, 2003.“How to Master the Art of Negotiating Price,” WSJ, Mar. 22, 2011.NHZ: Chapter 5 (pp. 99-108).Preparation QuestionsFor Fabtek, suppose you are Amy Vitali, the Vice President of Marketing at Fabtek. Consider the following questions:How are you going to respond to Cal Keating’s request?If you are going to fix the problem, how much will you charge? Why?For Pricing Predicament, suppose you Tony Della Pena, the regional manager at Standard Machine Corporation. After reading the case and the conclusions of Scott Palmer, consider the following questions:How would you summarize the situation to Bob Davis, the corporate vice president for sales?What recommendations would you make to Mr. Davis? That is, what package would you offer (if any)? Why?Session 11Integrative Case, Legal Issues in Pricing, and Course SummaryApr 5OverviewIn the first half of the session, we will discuss the integrative case, XM Satellite Radio, which ties together many of the fundamental concepts we have covered in the course. A key question in the case is the choice of a revenue model: whether XM can make money only using subscriptions or jointly from subscriptions and advertising.In the second half, we will cover legal and ethical issues pertaining to pricing, extending our discussion from the previous session on anti-competitive tactics to other settings. We will then review the course.Required ReadingCase: XM Satellite Radio (A). “U.S. Judge Rules Apple Colluded on E-Books,” WSJ, July 10, 2013.“Fixing for a Fight”, Economist, April 20, 2002.“Supermarket Sweep”, Economist, May 1, 2008.Optional ReadingNHZ: Chapter 13.Preparation QuestionsIn “U.S. Judge Rules Apple Colluded on E-Books,” the article mentions “most-favored nation” clauses. What exactly are these clauses and how did they benefit Apple? That is, what behavior did the clauses help to ensure among the collusive firms (Apple and the publishers)?Session 12Project PresentationsApr 12OverviewGroups will present their final projects to the class. All groups are required to submit to me complete hardcopies of their slides, including any relevant appendices, for grading purposes.Be mindful of the time limit and plan your slides accordingly.Preparation QuestionsSimply come prepared to ask your fellow classmates insightful questions about their projects. ................
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