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Management Science Vol. 48 No. 2 2002

Customer Loyalty and Supplier Quality Competition

Noah Gans

OPIM Department, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

open access

Abstract

We develop a model of customer choice in response to random variation in quality. The choice model yields closed-form expressions which reflect the effect of competing suppliers' service quality on the long-run fraction of purchases a customer makes at the various competitors. We then use the expressions as the basis of simple normative models for suppliers seeking to maximize their long-run average profits. The results provide insight into the effect of switching behavior on the service levels offered by competing suppliers.

DOI
10.1287/mnsc.48.2.207.256
Volume
48
Issue
2
Pages
207-221
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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