Przekonania konsumentów a decyzje producentów na oligopolistycznym rynku dóbr 
trwałego użytku
[Consumer beliefs and producer decisions in a durable goods oligopoly]

Michał Kot (Collegium of Economic Analysis, SGH, Warszawa)


Producers operating in durable goods markets make complex decisions regarding 
product design, production planning and pricing, which are all hindered by the 
characteristics of these markets. The study aims to explain how producers' 
incorporation of consumer beliefs about product features in the decision-making 
process affects the demand and profits of companies. Since the market under 
consideration has certain features, i.e., the existence of autonomous agents with 
individual characteristics and behaviours; intensive interactions between agents; 
learning and adapting to changes and the emergence of unplanned, global regularities 
from local interactions, the research method used in the study is the creation and 
examination of the agent-based model of durable goods oligopoly. The model can 
reflect the behaviour of each market's entity and the market as a whole. The aim of 
experiments performed with the model is twofold: to capture the behaviour of market 
entities and to measure outcomes of these decisions. Obtained results confirm the 
existence of significant differences in decisions made by companies that strive to 
reveal consumer beliefs and decisions made by firms that omit consumer research. The 
effects of these decisions are affected by market characteristics (e.g., frequency of 
communication between consumers) and actions undertaken by competitive firms.