Title: The true culprits of excessive intrabrand price competition among authorised Mercedes-Benz dealers in Thailand

Authors: Paravee Asava-Anan

Addresses: Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University, Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

Abstract: In recent years, heavy price competition is a common phenomenon in automobile industry. The central focus of this study is an empirical study on current situation of selected brand, Mercedes-Benz, in specific market, Thailand. The study aims to understand why fierce intrabrand price competition has become the norm. The term excessive has been used to indicate that price reduction has gone beyond margin that dealers have. Systematic analysis is being conducted by utilising well-accepted academic frameworks to look at the interacting forces not only at manufacturer level but also at the dealership level. This study is a serious attempt to examine the exact situation and the causes of massive intrabrand price competition.

Keywords: intrabrand price competitions; excessive price competition; competitiveness; competitive strategy; automobile dealers; authorised dealers; Mercedes-Benz; Thailand.

DOI: 10.1504/IJATM.2017.089370

International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 2017 Vol.17 No.4, pp.409 - 429

Received: 04 Oct 2016
Accepted: 18 Aug 2017
Published online: 21 Jan 2018 *

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