Retailing under resale price maintenance: Economies of scale and scope, and firm strategic response, in the inter-war British retail pharmacy sector
本文研究两次世界大战期间英国零售药店中转售价格维持对市场结构、生产率及竞争优势的影响，发现大型连锁药店通过更高利润率（来自制造商折扣和向后整合）缓解了RPM的负面增长效应，并利用新发现的全国性调查数据及Boots公司内部数据进行分析。
The article examines the impact of resale price maintenance (RPM) on market structure, productivity, and competitive advantage in British retail pharmacy. In contrast to influential studies, but consistent with contemporary and recent work, it is shown that the major multiples were able to ameliorate the negative growth impacts of RPM. Higher profit margins ‒ principally from larger manufacturer discounts and backward integration – were used to fund initiatives aimed at boosting aggregate sales and economies of scale and scope. These relationships are explored using a recently discovered national establishment-level survey of retail pharmacists’ costs and margins, together with internal data for Boots Ltd.