Price-Endings When Prices Signal Quality
用理论模型解释为何企业用整数价格传递高质量信号，模拟显示即使存在9结尾价格需求高峰时结论仍成立，实证表明高质量产品更常用整数价格，且消费者越难判断质量时关系越强。
This paper provides a theoretical explanation for why firms behave as though they use round prices to signal quality. By replacing the linear demand curve in Bagwell and Riordan's (1991) price as a signal of quality model with a kinked demand curve, and analyzing what price endings firms are most likely to use, the following observations can be made: (1) Firms that are using high prices to signal quality are more likely to set those prices at round numbers, and (2) price-endings themselves are not necessarily signals of quality. A simulation was conducted to demonstrate that these findings generally hold true even in the presence of demand spikes at 9-ending prices (e.g., Schindler and Kibarian 1996). Finally, empirical evidence is provided to demonstrate that firms tend to use more round prices for higherquality products, and that this relationship is even stronger for product categories where consumers are less able to detect the true level of quality prior to purchase.