Product variety and distribution channel structure
研究了制造商的产品多样性决策如何受分销策略影响，比较了直销和通过零售商销售时最优多样性的差异，发现零售商权力和多样性对需求的影响是关键因素。
We consider how a manufacturer’s product variety decision is affected by its distribution strategy. While offering product variety will generally lead to higher demand, it also has negative implications on production costs and demand uncertainty. We investigate how the manufacturer’s optimal product variety decision differs when selling directly to customers (centralised scenario) as compared to selling through a retailer (decentralised scenario). We find that the retailer’s power and the impact of product variety on demand significantly affect the attractiveness of product variety and determine under which distribution strategy the manufacturer should provide a higher level of variety.