Wtich2 --
The case study that you're seeking is "DHL Worldwide Express," a
Harvard Business case study originally published in September, 1992
and revised in 1997. It is orderable on-line for $6.50:
http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=4D4OT2GH2VY20CTEQENB5VQKMSARWIPS?id=593011
The case covers uniform vs. country pricing decisions faced by DHL's
marketing staff. If you're at a business school, the library may well
have a copy. You won't find it on-line, as Harvard holds the
copyright.
I know from your other question on "International Pricing for Profit"
that you're looking for a good topic. I had looked at that question
and was considering suggesting the following Google search strategy:
"grey markets" + pricing + international
"Grey markets" are any unauthorized distribution of goods, be it
semiconductor distributors selling excess inventory to other
"unauthorized" distributors -- or trans-shipments of goods from the
U.S. to Europe. When there are significant differences in pricing,
both customers and resellers have a strong interest to attack pricing
differentials. Invariably disputes end up in the public eye. During
the 1980s, for example, differential pricing between the U.S. and
Europe for cameras caused quite a bit of controversy.
Here's a series of articles from The Register, a U.K.-based
publication that covers the information technology industry on
shipments of software from the U.S. into Europe. "This is what
Microsoft said about grey imports in 1998" is the first of 5 articles
from The Register (Nov. 27, 2001):
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/51/23045.html
The other four articles are linked at the bottom.
If any of this eliminates your need for the international pricing
question, don't forget to close it so that you're not charged.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
Google search strategy: |
