Competing in Product and Service: A Product Life-Cycle Model
构建了一个产品生命周期模型，研究制造商在设计和销售需要售后维护的产品时，如何选择产品价格、售后服务质量与价格，并考虑与独立服务商的竞争。该模型有助于评估产品设计中的利润权衡和客户资产价值。
In this paper we develop a product life-cycle model that studies a set of strategic choices facing manufacturers as they design the joint product/service bundle for a product which may require maintenance and repair support after its sale. The choice parameters of interest include the product price, the quality of after-sales service and the price to be charged for the after-sales service. We adopt a competitive, game-theoretic (as opposed to single-firm optimization) framework, where there is competition for the provision of after-sales service between the manufacturer and an independent service operator. The product price and the service quality/price are characterized by an equilibrium to a sequential game. The resulting outcome is applied to support the valuation of alternative product designs in explicit consideration of the tradeoff between profit from product sale and from the provision of after-sales service. The model can also be used to evaluate the asset value of a firm's customer base.