Alejandro Cataldo

Optimal pricing and composition of multiple bundles: A two-step approach

This paper analyzes the problem facing a firm that must determine the optimal composition and pricing of multiple bundles it supplies to a single market segment. It is assumed the firm’s competitors does not react in the short run to its decisions and that their bundles’ prices and characteristics are known. It is further assumed that potential consumers of bundles are rational and maximize a random utility function. The problem is modeled as a mixed integer non-linear program. Though such programs are normally hard to solve using traditional methods, the difficulties are circumvented here by taking advantage of the problem’s mathematical structure to develop a novel two-phase solution approach. Two aspects of the solution are particularly worthy of note: (1) we demonstrate that the optimal price of a bundle marketed by a firm depends on the composition of all the firm’s bundles, and not on their prices, and on the composition and price of all the competitors’ bundles in the market, and (2) that if the consumer choice behavior is described by a logit model, then the firm’s bundles should be very similar to each other.

Pricing and composition of bundles with constrained multinomial logit

In this paper, we propose an extension of the problem of bundling with multinomial logit, making an explicit inclusion of the consumers’ maximum willingness to pay (MWTP) by means of the constrained multinomial logit (CMNL). In the bundling problem, we determine the price and the composition of bundles offered for a single segment of consumers by a firm, which is competing with others in the market, and we compare this result to a base case in which the consumers’ MWTP is not considered. We assume these consumers as rational since they choose the bundle that maximise their utility and the bundle price is within their MWTP. The resulting model is a non-linear mixed integer programme which is solved in two steps: (i) pricing is the first step; the prices are numerically determined in a fixed point equations system and (ii) in the second step the composition of the bundle is determined by explicit enumeration. The results show that the price obtained is less than the one got in the case without CMNL (and bigger than the costs), and the composition of the offered bundle is different as well. It is possible to conclude that not considering the consumers’ MWTP in the context of the problem of bundling will imply an overestimation of the firm’s profit. We have analysed as well the results for a Chilean telecommunications company. These results show the importance of including the MWTP in the pricing and composition process.

Exploring the IT Usage in SMEs from New Zealand, Colombia and Chile Using Action- Research Methodology

The theory on the adoption and use of information technology (IT) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is abundant. However, methodologically speaking, action-research (AR) has been little explored as a method of construction of this theory, despite the use of this methodology could improve understanding of how SMEs use IT. Therefore, we researched the use of IT in SMEs using a methodology adapted from AR. The methodology was tested in companies from New Zealand, Colombia and Chile. The use of this methodology was well evaluated by the top management of SMEs, in fact, the recommendations coming from the analysis were well received by the management of participants. These results are auspicious regarding the use of AR in SMEs and could help encourage other researchers to use this methodology, which remains little used in information systems research.

A proactive transfer policy for critical patient flow management

Hospital emergency departments are often overcrowded, resulting in long wait times and a public perception of poor attention. Delays in transferring patients needing further treatment increases emergency department congestion, has negative impacts on their health and may increase their mortality rates. A model built around a Markov decision process is proposed to improve the efficiency of patient flows between the emergency department and other hospital units. With each day divided into time periods, the formulation estimates bed demand for the next period as the basis for determining a proactive rather than reactive transfer decision policy. Due to the high dimensionality of the optimization problem involved, an approximate dynamic programming approach is used to derive an approximation of the optimal decision policy, which indicates that a certain number of beds should be kept free in the different units as a function of the next period demand estimate. Testing the model on two instances of different sizes demonstrates that the optimal number of patient transfers between units changes when the emergency patient arrival rate for transfer to other units changes at a single unit, but remains stable if the change is proportionally the same for all units. In a simulation using real data for a hospital in Chile, significant improvements are achieved by the model in key emergency department performance indicators such as patient wait times (reduction higher than 50%), patient capacity (21% increase) and queue abandonment (from 7% down to less than 1%).

Medicina de Urgencia y Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos. Una alianza necesaria en busca de la mejoría de la atención de pacientes críticos.

The need for critical care services is increasing in Chile. Critical care beds and specialists in this area are scarce. In this article we discuss some aspects that hamper the care of critically ill patients from their arrival to the emergency department to their transfer to the ICU. Special emphasis is given to system saturation and its multiple causes. The benefits of an integrative approach between emergency medicine and critical care specialists are highlighted and some solutions are proposed to strengthen this partnership.The need for critical care services is increasing in Chile. Critical care beds and specialists in this area are scarce. In this article we discuss some aspects that hamper the care of critically ill patients from their arrival to the emergency department to their transfer to the ICU. Special emphasis is given to system saturation and its multiple causes. The benefits of an integrative approach between emergency medicine and critical care specialists are highlighted and some solutions are proposed to strengthen this partnership.