Partitioned pricing: review of the literature and directions for further research

Partitioned pricing (PP) has received increased attention in both managerial practice and academic literature. The fragmented nature of existing research, terminological and conceptual inconsistencies, and ambiguous findings regarding performance implications of PP underscore the need for an organization of the PP literature. This article provides four major contributions to the literature. First, it develops a new definition of PP based on a critical evaluation of the current body of literature and an analysis of key characteristics of the concept. Second, this article discusses the primary theoretical perspectives used to explain PP, which provides insights into the theoretical foundation of the concept and impetus for future studies on PP. Third, this article presents a review of the state-of-the-art in research on PP and provides managers with guidelines about when and how to apply this pricing tactic. Finally, this article identifies overarching limitations of prior PP research and outlines avenues for further research.