![]() ; ; Mantin, Binyamin ![]() in Journal of Business Logistics (in press) This study examines the impacts of consumer confidence on stockpiling behavior and, subsequently, retail inventory management. We show how stockpiling behavior evolved during the “Great Recession” of 2008 ... [more ▼] This study examines the impacts of consumer confidence on stockpiling behavior and, subsequently, retail inventory management. We show how stockpiling behavior evolved during the “Great Recession” of 2008-2009 as consumer confidence waned and demonstrate the impact of this development on inventory management. Drawing on the two-segment household inventory theory consisting of non-stockpiling and stockpiling segments, we use a panel dataset (2005-2015) to calibrate household inventory holdings. This dataset then serves as input for a retailer-level case study. Our empirical analysis reveals significant impacts from changing stockpiling behavior. When consumer confidence is low, both stockpiling and non-stockpiling segments respond by reducing weekly consumption rates; however, the stockpiling segment also significantly lengthens the time between shopping trips, and ultimately increases the duration of inventory holdings. These changes to consumption and stockpiling add complexity to inventory planning, requiring retailers to carefully adjust inventory levels to maintain service levels. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 14 (0 UL)![]() Wu, You ![]() ![]() ![]() in Transportation Research Part B: Methodological (2022), 163 Air service agreements between countries spell out diverse provisions, such as reciprocal capacity allocations. We analyze how such agreements, which regulate total capacity in markets, affect total ... [more ▼] Air service agreements between countries spell out diverse provisions, such as reciprocal capacity allocations. We analyze how such agreements, which regulate total capacity in markets, affect total welfare and its distribution. We consider the interactions between two competing cargo airlines, their end customers, logistics service providers—who serve as intermediaries between the former two agent types—as well as the policy makers. Accounting for demand uncertainty, we model this interaction as a two-stage game. In the first stage, the policy makers coordinate equal capacity allocations to the two asset providers, whereas in the second stage, the asset providers compete over prices in the spot market. Solving the model, we characterize the pricing strategies employed by the two competing capacity-constrained asset providers in the spot market when facing price sensitive demand from end customers. We further analyze the corresponding capacity decisions. We then compare this coordinated competitive setting with a collaborative setting where the two asset providers can (virtually) merge and act as a monopoly. We find that, compared with the monopoly setting, the coordinated duopoly results in lower capacity, lower profits to the asset providers, larger benefits to both end customers and logistics service providers, and overall lower total welfare. These results suggest that policy makers shall hold an open attitude towards a higher level of cooperation among the asset providers. We carry out robustness checks to verify our insights hold with three, rather than two, asset providers, with different demand distributions, when capacity is costly and when asymmetric capacities are allowed in the spot market. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 21 (5 UL)![]() Mantin, Binyamin ![]() in Journal of Air Transport Management (2021), 94 Detailed reference viewed: 127 (1 UL)![]() ; ; Mantin, Binyamin ![]() in Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management (2021), 21(3), 262-273 In multi-period environments, the presence of strategic consumers induces monopolist retailers to inter-temporally compete with themselves. Targeting consumers with price-discount coupons is a proposed ... [more ▼] In multi-period environments, the presence of strategic consumers induces monopolist retailers to inter-temporally compete with themselves. Targeting consumers with price-discount coupons is a proposed mechanism to overcome this inter-temporal competition. Targeting consumers with coupons can counteract strategic consumer behavior, but this mechanism cannot completely eradicate the negative implications imposed by the presence of such consumers. Additionally, the quality of information available (regarding the consumers’ valuations) may play an important role in the targeting decisions. Specifically, we illustrate how the retailer may absent completely from targeting efforts when the quality of information and the proportion of strategic consumers are sufficiently low. Lastly, we consider the optimal investment in information solicitation, demonstrating the trade-off between a low investment, which result in low quality of targeting capability, and a high investment which improves the effectiveness of the targeting efforts. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 22 (0 UL)![]() Perez Becker, Nicole ![]() ![]() ![]() E-print/Working paper (2021) Detailed reference viewed: 122 (12 UL)![]() Mantin, Binyamin ![]() E-print/Working paper (2021) Detailed reference viewed: 114 (17 UL)![]() ; ; Mantin, Binyamin ![]() in Production and Operations Management (2020), 29(10), 2350-2380 The provision of essential supplies is a key service provided by retailers when demand spikes due to consumer stockpiling during environmental emergencies. Moreover, it is important for retailers to ... [more ▼] The provision of essential supplies is a key service provided by retailers when demand spikes due to consumer stockpiling during environmental emergencies. Moreover, it is important for retailers to quickly recover from these events by replenishing the stock of essential supplies to meet the continuing needs of local residents. The main purpose of this research is to study consumer precautionary stockpiling behavior prior to the onset of hurricane landfalls and determine the impact of this behavior on in-store product availability for various formats of retail store outlets. Specifically, we focus on the bottled water product category, an essential emergency category in hurricane preparedness. This study combines an event analysis methodology with econometric models using archival retail scanner data from 60 U.S. retail chains located in 963 counties and real-time data from four recent U.S. continental hurricanes. We find that supply-side characteristics (retail network and product variety), demand-side characteristics (hurricane experience and household income), and disaster characteristics (hazard proximity and hazard intensity) significantly affect consumer stockpiling propensity as the hurricanes approach. The increased consumer stockpiling has immediate and longer-term impacts on retail operations, namely, in-store product availability. Among various retail formats, drug stores are associated with the highest consumer stockpiling propensity before hurricanes, while dollar stores and discount stores are associated with the lowest in-store product availability following hurricanes. Our study points to the need for retailers and policymakers to carefully monitor factors affecting consumer stockpiling behavior that will allow for better allocation of critical supplies during the hurricane season. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 141 (12 UL) |
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