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Strategy

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  • Promo Image 
    • RECENT PUBLICATION: Working Paper

      Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2019

      Competition in Pricing Algorithms

      Zach Y. Brown and Alexander MacKay

      Increasingly, retailers have access to better pricing technology, especially in online markets. Through pricing algorithms, firms can automate their response to rivals’ prices. What are the implications for price competition? We develop a model in which firms choose algorithms, rather than prices. Even with simple (i.e., linear) algorithms, competitive equilibria can have higher prices than in the standard simultaneous Bertrand pricing game. Using hourly prices of over-the-counter drugs from five major online retailers, we document evidence that these retailers possess different pricing technologies. In addition, we find pricing patterns consistent with competition in pricing algorithms. A simple calibration of the model suggests that pricing algorithms lead to meaningful increases in markups, especially for firms with superior pricing technology.

      Citation:

      Brown, Zach Y., and Alexander MacKay. "Competition in Pricing Algorithms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-067, November 2019. (Direct download.)  View Details
      CiteView DetailsSSRN Read Now Related
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    • RECENT PUBLICATION: Case

      Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2019

      Martini Klinik: Prostate Cancer Care 2019

      Michael E. Porter, Jens Deerberg-Wittram and Thomas W. Feeley

      Since its establishment in 2005, Hamburg’s Martini Klinik had single-mindedly focused on prostate cancer care with a commitment to measure long term health outcomes for every patient. A wholly owned subsidiary of the University Hospital Hamburg, Martini Klinik was a “hospital in a hospital” in close proximity to other medical departments and services. By 2019, Martini Klinik had become the largest prostate cancer treatment program in the world with 8,000 outpatient cases and more than 2,500 surgical cases annually. Patients came from all over Germany and from around the world. A new and expanded facility was under construction to have the capacity to manage more patients with prostate cancer.

      Keywords: health care; Michael Porter; Jens Deerberg-Wittram; Clifford Marks; prostate cancer; health care policy; value agenda; integrated practice units; outcomes measurement; Health Care and Treatment; Value; Health Disorders; Insurance; Medical Specialties; Outcome or Result; Measurement and Metrics; Business Processes; Insurance Industry; Health Industry; Germany;

      Citation:

      Porter, Michael E., Jens Deerberg-Wittram, and Thomas W. Feeley. "Martini Klinik: Prostate Cancer Care 2019." Harvard Business School Case 720-359, November 2019.  View Details
      CiteView DetailsEducatorsRelated
  • Promo Image 
    • RECENT PUBLICATION: Case

      Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2019

      Microsoft Azure and the Cloud Wars

      Andy Wu and Cindy Na

      Citation:

      Wu, Andy, and Cindy Na. "Microsoft Azure and the Cloud Wars." Harvard Business School Case 720-409, November 2019.  View Details
      CiteView DetailsEducatorsRelated
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Page Content

The Strategy unit studies firms as competitors in an economic landscape. Key issues include: the development and effectiveness of firm strategy at both a business and corporate level; the analysis of the competitive environment; and the sustainability of strategy over time.

Our research, course development, and teaching draws on multiple disciplines, including economics, sociology, and political science, and focuses on both domestic and global competition. The objective of the work is to generate findings and develop concepts that will help managers improve their strategic decisions while advancing the state of knowledge in the academic study of strategy and related disciplines.

In The News

  • Read This Before You Panic About a Global Coffee Shortage

    Re: Alexander MacKay

    MarketWatch, 05 DEC 2019

  • Under-the-Radar Companies, including OYO Hotels, Carbon Engineering, Whim, and more!

    Re: Youngme Moon, Felix Oberholzer and Mihir Desai

    After Hours, 04 DEC 2019

  • 5 Ways to Position Your Business For Growth In 2020

    Re: Cynthia Montgomery

    Forbes, 30 NOV 2019

Page Content 2

Doctoral Students

 

Daniel J. Brown

Innessa Colaiacovo

Fulton Christopher Eaglin

Cirrus Foroughi

Young Hou

Hyunjin Kim

Nataliya Langburd


Faculty Positions

Harvard Business School seeks candidates in all fields for full time positions. Candidates with outstanding records in PhD or DBA programs are encouraged to apply.

View Open Positions »

Contact Information

Strategy Unit
Harvard Business School
Morgan Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
Strategy@hbs.edu

HBS Working Knowledge

Pic
A Journal-Based Replication of 'Being Chosen to Lead'
re Erik C. Snowberg
Attempts to replicate experimental findings in economics and other disciplines have had a disappointing track record. This paper proposes and shows proof-of-concept for one way to ensure replication:
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Corporate Innovation Increasingly Benefits from Government Research
re Dennis A. Yao
Nearly a third of US patents rely directly on government-funded research, says Dennis Yao. Is government too involved in supporting private sector innovation—or not enough?
Pic
Torched Planet: The Business Case to Reinvent Almost Everything
re Rebecca M. Henderson
With climate change scorching the planet, business leaders have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the world—and make money in the process, says Rebecca Henderson.

More »

Harvard Business Publishing

Article
A Survey of How 1,000 CEOs Spend Their Day Reveals What Makes Leaders Successful
by Oriana Bandiera, Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Prat and Stephen Hansen
Case
Epic Games
by Andy Wu and Christopher Zhang
Press Book
On Competition
by M. E. Porter

More »

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