Mail-order and internet sellers must decide how customers pay shipping charges. Typically, these sellers choose between two pricing policies: either “uniform pricing,” where the firm delivers to any customer at a fixed delivery charge (that may be volume dependent), or “mill pricing,” where the firm bills the customer a distance-related shipping charge. This paper studies price competition betw...

In this article we discuss the importance of customer-orientation for corporate success. Customer-orientation is not merely managerial jargon, although a quick glance through annual reports would lead one to such a conclusion. There is some substantial meaning in the concept. Customerorientation is not the exclusive right of the marketing department. In fact, we argue that customer-orientation ...

The organizational adage ‘customer is king’ is not new. With a significant number of organizational resources devoted to understanding the ‘king’s’ needs and responding to them, this phrase, in today’s competitive business arena, is an understatement. With the increasing customer touch points and avenues for customers to provide formal/informal feedback, the modern day customer support ecosyste...