Companies operating global supply chains in various industries struggle with parallel importers diverting goods from authorized channels to gray markets. While the existing gray market literature mainly focuses on pricing, in this paper we develop a model to examine the role of demand enhancing services as non-price mechanisms for coping with gray markets. We consider a manufacturer that sells ...

Gray markets, also known as parallel imports, have created fierce competition for manufacturers in many industries. We analyze the impact of parallel importation on a price-setting manufacturer that serves two markets with uncertain demand, and characterize her policy against parallel importation. We show that ignoring demand uncertainty can take a significant toll on the manufacturer’s profit,...

Normative legal systems have struggled to define international property rights. This struggle has been particularly intense in the area of intellectual property because the level of protection afforded to trademarked goods varies tremendously from nation to nation.1 Thus, international trade often leads to infringement of domestic property rights. The tension between the global mobility of good...

A lthough President Obama issued an executive order last October directing federal agencies to deal with the ongoing drug shortage and to look into the price gouging taking place in the so-called gray market ( see J. Natl. Cancer Inst. online Jan. 23, 2012), frustration continues to build among oncology professionals trying to meet patients ’ needs. Meanwhile, little coordination seems to exist...