On the Modelling of Price Effects in the Diffusion of Optional Contingent Products

In this chapter, we study the pricing strategies of firms in a multi-product diffusion model where we use a new formalization of the price effects. More particularly, we introduce the impact of prices on one of the factors that affect the diffusion of new products: the innovation coefficient. By doing so, we relax one of the hypotheses in the existing literature stating that this rate is constant. In order to assess the impact of this functional form on the pricing policies of firms selling optional contingent products, we use our model to study two scenarios already investigated in the multiplicative form model suggested by Mahajan and Muller (1991) (M&M). We follow a ‘logical experimentation’ perspective by computing and com- paring the results of three models: (i) The M&M model, (ii) a modified version of M&M where the planning horizon is infinite, and (iii) our model, where the new formalization of the innovation effect is introduced. This perspective allows us to attribute the differences in results to either the length of the planning horizon, or to our model’s formalization. Besides its contribution to the literature on pricing and diffusion, this paper highlights the sensitiv- ity of results to the hypothesis used in product diffusion modelling and could explain the mixed results obtained in the empirical validations of diffusion models (Mesak, 1996).MINECO under projects ECO2014-52343-P and ECO2017-82227-P (AEI) and by Junta de Castilla y León VA024P17 and VA105G18 co-financed by FEDER funds (EU)

An fMRI study of parietal cortex involvement in the visual guidance of locomotion

Locomoting through the environment typically involves anticipating impending changes in heading trajectory in addition to maintaining the current direction of travel. We explored the neural systems involved in the “far road” and “near road” mechanisms proposed by Land and Horwood (1995) using simulated forward or backward travel where participants were required to gauge their current direction of travel (rather than directly control it). During forward egomotion, the distant road edges provided future path information, which participants used to improve their heading judgments. During backward egomotion, the road edges did not enhance performance because they no longer provided prospective information. This behavioral dissociation was reflected at the neural level, where only simulated forward travel increased activation in a region of the superior parietal lobe and the medial intraparietal sulcus. Providing only near road information during a forward heading judgment task resulted in activation in the motion complex. We propose a complementary role for the posterior parietal cortex and motion complex in detecting future path information and maintaining current lane positioning, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved