We formulate a structural econometric model to analyze the impact of service attributes (warranty length, after-sales service quality) on consumer demand in the U.S.automobile industry. Our results indicate that service attributes play a compensatory role with respect to product quality, i.e., the impact of warranty length and service quality on demand increases when product quality decreases. ...

The high cost of lenient return policies force consumer electronics OEMs to look for ways to recover value from lightly used consumer returns, which constitute a substantial fraction of sales and cannot be re-sold as new products. Refurbishing to remarket or to fulfill warranty claims are the two common disposition options considered to unlock the value in consumer returns, which present the OE...