Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
The RAND Journal of Economics
Publication Date
6-1-2007
Volume
38
Issue
2
First Page
447
Last Page
466
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
Abstract
We develop a model in which a main product (called product A) provides a performance quality z by itself, whereas a complementary product (called product B) is useless by itself but enhances the main product's performance quality to q > z. This asymmetric complementarity gives rise to the following results. First, if z is relatively small, then firms A and B behave as if the products are symmetrically complementary with the usual double marginalization problem. Second, if z is sufficiently large, then firms A and B price their products as if they are independent. Third, over a certain range of intermediate z, no pure-strategy Nash equilibrium exists.
DOI
10.1111/j.1756-2171.2007.tb00077.x
Print ISSN
07416261
E-ISSN
17562171
Funding Information
This paper acknowledge the financial support of the RGC grant no. HKUST6209/04H from HKSAR.
Publisher Statement
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Accepted Author Manuscript
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Cheng, L. K., & Nahm, J. (2007). Product boundary, vertical competition, and the double mark-up problem. The RAND Journal of Economics, 38(2), 447-466. doi: 10.1111/j.1756-2171.2007.tb00077.x