everything.study
15.818

Pricing

3-0-3 units · Graduate

Framework for understanding pricing strategies and analytics, with emphasis on entrepreneurial pricing. Topics include economic value analysis, elasticities, customization, complementary products, pricing in platform markets, and anticipating competitive responses.

Spring 2010

Topics

  • Introduction
  • Economic value in use: Atlantic computer example
  • Pricing under customer uncertainty
  • Virgin case
  • Measuring customer response to prices
  • Colonial Homes: Price elasticities
  • Pricing to divide customers
  • Keurig case
  • Technology and pricing
  • SIMS case
  • Pricing simulation
  • Pricing simulation (cont.)
  • Pricing with competitors
  • Cigarette wars case
  • Group presentations
  • Group presentations (cont.)
  • Class wrap up

Readings

  • Nagle, Thomas T., and John Hogan. The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing . 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005. ISBN: 9780131856776.
    Listed reading
  • Textbook: Nagle, chapter 3
    Listed reading
  • Case: Dolan, Robert J. “Pricing a Value-Based Approach.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-500-071, December 21, 1999.
    Listed reading
  • SES #: 2 · TOPICS: Economic value in use: Atlantic computer example · READINGS: Lecture notes: Pricing Economic Value to the Customer
    Reading assignment
  • Textbook: Nagle, chapter 4 (pp. 96-101), and chapter 5
    Listed reading
  • SES #: 4 · TOPICS: Virgin case · READINGS: Case: McGovern, Gail. “Virgin Mobile USA: Pricing for the Very First Time.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-504-028. September 8, 2003. Rev. June 11, 2007.
    Reading assignment
  • Textbook: Nagle, chapter 13
    Listed reading
  • SES #: 6 · TOPICS: Colonial homes: Price elasticities · READINGS: Case: Bell, David E., and Najib Hashem. “Colonial Homes.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-190-008. July 13, 1989. Rev. May 10 2004.
    Reading assignment
  • Textbook: Nagle, chapter 4 (pp. 60-78) and chapter 7
    Listed reading
  • SES #: 8 · TOPICS: Keurig case · READINGS: Case: Anderson, Eric T. “Keurig at Home.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-KEL-021. February 28, 2005.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 9 · TOPICS: Technology and pricing · READINGS: Lecture notes: Pricing and IT
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 10 · TOPICS: SIMS case · READINGS: Case: Moon, Youngme. “Electronic Arts Introduces The Sims Online.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-503-008. August 23, 2002.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 11 · TOPICS: Pricing simulation · READINGS: (materials unavailable)
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 12 · TOPICS: Pricing simulation (cont.) · READINGS: (materials unavailable)
    Reading assignment
  • Textbook: Nagle, chapter 10
    Listed reading
  • SES #: 14 · TOPICS: Cigarette wars case · READINGS: Case: Silk, Alvin J., and Bruce Isaacson. “Philip Morris: Marlboro Friday (A).” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-596-001. September 19, 1995. Rev. December 22, 1997.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 18 · TOPICS: Class wrap up · READINGS: Lecture notes: Summarizing Pricing
    Reading assignment
  • I have written my own notes because I do not believe that current textbooks are “quantitative” enough to sufficiently teach practical pricing. Therefore students should take the lecture notes as the effective textbook for the course.
    Listed reading
  • Nagle, Thomas T, and John Hogan. The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing . 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005. ISBN: 9780131856776.
    Listed reading

Prerequisites & course information

Prereq: 15.809 , 15.814 , or permission of instructor G (Fall; first half of term) 3-0-3 units Credit cannot also be received for 15.726

Sources