Customer Reviews

Pricing Strategy: An Interdisciplinary Approach

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I teach pricing strategy at a business school and have read nearly all pricing books published in the past 20 years. Morris Engelson's textbook, "Pricing Strategy: An Interdisciplinary Approach," is helpful in the fact that it is interdisciplinary in focus. However, many topics are only touched upon rather than discussed in depth. I was also disappointed in the fact that few consumer behavior theories were woven and integrated into specific pricing strategies. How and why do consumers respond to certain pricing strategies in certain way? Engelson fails to address this issue. The textbook appears to have been written by relying solely on lecture notes, and, for the most part, is a very dry read. It's definitely elementary in its presentation - and would only be of use for someone who has never been exposed to pricing from either a applied or theoretical sense. I did not adopt this textbook for my course. Instead, I would recommend that any college professor, student, or company manager to purchase Nagle and Holden's "Strategy and Tactics of Pricing." Another book better than Engelson's is Dolan and Simon's "Power Pricing."

not at all bad as a way to get your feet half damp in pricing theory. Engelson depicts pricing and markets as if they were commodities, thus his models are out growths of commodity pricing models . If this were the case, life (an pricing) would be a lot simpler, and probably a lot less interesting. However, this isn't the way the real world works. Reality is full of discontinuities and irrational (or semi rational) behavior that a person in business who intends to survive has to think about. Engleson acknowledges some of these difficulties, and then begs off, saying the discussion of such topics is too broad, or too deep. Could be, but Engleson could put more grit and insight into this book, such as case studies and comparisons across different industries. The pricing problems in the retail clothing industry, the automotive industry, and the software industry would be fascinating, and valuable, to see compared. So would issues of product differentiation, where two premium products each have an exclusive technology that offers different, but very desirable benefits. His chapter on Strategy reads like a high school textbook: c'mon, "Planning,Thinking,Act,Strategic,Behavior" !, this kind of dumbed down language is truly insulting to the intelligence. How about discussing some real strategy in action ? Like the tradeoffs of removing intermediaries in distribution channels ? Or the effects of increased or decreased regulation ? The best and worst thing that can be said about Pricing Strategy is that it is mediocrity at its most mediocre, and Mr. Engleson, mediocrity may have cut it twenty years ago, but the world has changed greatly since then. Get with it.

I went ahead to buy this book even though it has some substandard reviews simply because I wasnt looking for an overly complicated academic text on pricing. I graduated with a degree in economics and even though I dont consider myself a hard core economist I really felt that this text was bare bones. The first 4 chapters go on and on about what devising strategy entails and Engelson uses such 'dumbed' down english; its almost insulting to anyone in business. The examples are too brief and lack analytical rigor.

Some templates and graphs in chapter 5 were useful but whats up with a section on famous quotes? Seems like Engelson ran out of things to add to his book. This book is so short you can read it in one hour...dont waste 30 bucks on this one...go with KOTLER or Nagle

Was my price demand curve justifiable, could I defend it. What about my 3 year forecast to manufacturing, to aggressive, to weak? My job as Product Marketing Manager was to develope a pricing strategy based on sound principles that would determine if the proposed new product would likely meet division objectives for profit and market share growth. My research for helpful books lead me to Morris Engelson's book on Pricing Strategy, the chapter dealing with demand curves for example gave me the foundation from which to build, not just hope. This book can help any product marketing manager (new or old) develope a realistic pricing strategy based on sound principles, not wishful thinking.

This book is a very well-organized reference book, written for busy people, and as such may complement other textbook-like treatments. The organizing 'strategy' in the book is to ensure that you don't have to wade through many paragraphs of prose to find the one piece information you're looking for - highlighting and bulleting makes the book very easy to use. Also, the many graphs are well-integrated with the text, which provides a clear "total picture" at a glance. The comprehensive list of definitions and multiple relationships and equations in the appendix also adds value, for someone looking to use the material right away. The author's abbreviated approach does leave out some useful material, so normally I'd rate the book at four stars. But for under $20, you can't go wrong with this book. It's a great basic book on pricing on its own, and can also be profitably used as a reference adjunct to other, more traditional, texts.

The narrative is a little hard to follow once in a while. So this guy's not an English major. That's okay. The info in this book is great stuff to have if you are involved in business in any fashion.

I bought this book because it is a required text for a course (principles of pricing).

I've worked for myself and other small business owners most of my life.I wish I'd run across this book earlier. Without belaboring the point (although the author could; he really seems to enjoy the topic) pricing is presented as most crucial to maintaining profitability and an edge against your competitors.

After absorbing the material in this book (and it can take a few re-readings) I feel any small business person would be more competitive and aware of their place in the marketplace.

This was a required textbook for a class. The author is very wordy, does not explain well, but enjoys telling "stories." The graphs he uses do not match what he is talking about. At times it was a mystery what he was plotting on the graphs or demonstrating in his charts. This is not even good for a reference book. It has already been thrown out for the textbook requirements for my course. A waste of money.

The book is an academic-oriented guide rather than a practical and multi-aspect guide.
I've expected to find a less mathematically-based orientation book. Daily use of pricing strategy and methods, alongside with solid and actual examples that may be adopted to solve pricing dillemmas, could have turn this book into a daily-based effective tool.

I have looked at the previous book reviews, and for me they all appear to miss the mark. This is because these reviewers do not tell me all that much about the book but rather about themselves and their issues. I expect that some may see my review in the same category, but like the book says, "the final determination of value is in the mind of the buyer". I can see how the structure of this book may be considered by some not to be conducive to an academic study text. But I am not an academic and I do not need a textbook. I am a business owner and I need to analyze price and volume relationships in a practical way. I found the mathematical analysis procedures offered by this book to be of a superior quality, and the price/volume techniques particularly useful. I am giving this book a five rating because it provides the procedures and tools I need. I cannot see how someone would rate this book any lower in terms of what it provides and what it sets out to do. I wish there were some easy way to really know in advance how things would work out. This book at least makes the task that much easier with its analysis techniques and useful tools it provides.

Business managers will benefit from this excellent text on pricing strategy. It offers simple mathematical guidelines and basic methods for establishing the price for a product or service based on a variety of factors, including peceived value, competitive landscape, and market conditions. Engelson's style is conversational yet instructional, without being overly dry and academic. For anyone in business, this is a strong "how to" guide to setting product prices.