Amir Fazli

Academic Degrees

• Ph.D. in Marketing, 2018, University of Washington, Foster School of Business, Dissertation: The Effect of Cloud Computing on Marketing of Web-Based Services
• Master of Business Administration, 2013, Sharif University of Technology, Iran
• B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, 2010, University of Tehran, Iran

Selected Publications

• Fazli, A., Sayedi, A., and Shulman, J. D. (2018). The Effects of Autoscaling in Cloud Computing. Management Science, 64(11), 5149–5163.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  Web-based firms often rely on cloud-based computational resources to serve customers, but the number of customers they will serve is rarely known at the time of product launch. A recent innovation in cloud computing, known as autoscaling, allows companies to automatically scale their computational load up or down to match customer demand. We build a game theory model to examine how autoscaling will affect firms’ decisions to enter a new market and the resulting equilibrium prices, profitability, and consumer surplus. The model produces novel results depending on the likelihood of a firm’s success in the new market, differentiation among potential entrants, and the cost of computational capacity. For instance, in contrast to previous capacity commitment models with demand certainty, we show that autoscaling can mitigate price competition if the likelihood of a firm’s success in the market is moderate and the cost of capacity is sufficiently low. This is because without autoscaling, the firms’ uncertainty about demand would lead to excessive computational capacities and thus aggressive price competition. We also find that when the likelihood of success is sufficiently high, autoscaling facilitates entry for one firm yet deters a second firm from simultaneously entering the market.

• Fazli, A., and Shulman, J. D. (2018). Implications of Market Spillovers. Management Science, 64(11), 4996–5013.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  In recent years, several firms have decided to withdraw from profitable markets, believing the move will be beneficial for their overall business. For instance, CVS dropped tobacco products from its shelves in 2014, while Aldi dropped confectionery from its checkout lines in 2016. Findings from consumers’ evaluation of such moves suggest there exists a negative market spillover from selling in a market, such that a firm’s participation in one market reduces consumers’ willingness to pay for the firm’s products in other markets. On the other hand, certain socially favorable markets, such as markets for environment-friendly products, have been shown to create a positive market spillover for their sellers, increasing consumers’ willingness to pay in other markets the sellers participate in. We build an analytical model of two competing firms to examine how firms react to a market spillover and find the conditions under which different firms would sell in the spillover-producing market. Our analysis of how firms’ profits are affected by market spillovers identifies the consumers’ reservation value in the spillover-producing market, the relative size of the two markets, and the extent of the market spillover as key factors determining which firms benefit from a market spillover. Interestingly, we find it is possible for both firms to make more profit with a negative market spillover compared to when there is no market spillover, while a positive market spillover can actually result in lower profits for both firms compared to no market spillover.

Edited on June 15, 2020