Price and Service Discrimination in Queueing Systems: Incentive-Compatibility of Gcμ Scheduling
Price and Service Discrimination in Queueing Systems: Incentive-Compatibility of Gcμ Scheduling
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DOI：
10.1287/mnsc.46.9.1249.12238
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发表时间：
2000-09
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Jan A. Van Mieghem
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Jan A. Van Mieghem
本文研究了一个排队系统（即“企业”）为追求效用最大化且通过自身经历的延迟分布来衡量服务质量的异质顾客所提供的最优价格和服务质量等级。研究结果有三点：首先，引入延迟成本曲线，以便灵活描述顾客对质量的敏感度。其次，提出一种全面的可执行方法，针对任意延迟敏感度曲线，从分析角度明确调度、延迟分布和价格。这种方法的易处理性源于将重交通布朗运动结果引入经济分析。由此产生的广义\(c\mu\)（\(Gc\mu\)）调度规则是动态的，因此一般而言，服务等级不必与静态优先级排序相对应。一个基准示例探讨了差异化服务的价值。第三，引入等级和费率激励相容（\(IC\)）概念，以在信息不对称的情况下研究该系统，并在服务时间同质且顾客无足轻重的情况下，针对\(Gc\mu\)调度确立了这两个概念。等级\(IC\)促使顾客做出正确的等级选择，从而实现完美的服务区分；费率\(IC\)还促使实现集中最优费率。动态\(Gc\mu\)调度呈现出负反馈，再结合随时间变化的定价，也能在服务时间异质的情况下实现费率激励相容。最后，分析了多方案定价，即向所有顾客提供一个包含多种费率方案选择的菜单。
This article studies the optimal prices and service quality grades that a queuing system--the "firm"--provides to heterogeneous, utility-maximizing customers who measure quality by their experienced delay distributions. Results are threefold: First, delay costcurves are introduced that allow for a flexible description of a customer's quality sensitivity. Second, a comprehensiveexecutable approach is proposed that analytically specifies scheduling, delay distributions and prices for arbitrary delay sensitivity curves. The tractability of this approach derives from porting heavy-traffic Brownian results into the economic analysis. The generalizedcµ (G cµ) scheduling rule that emerges is dynamic so that, in general, service grades need not correspond to a static priority ranking. A benchmarking example investigates the value of differentiated service. Third, the notions ofgrade andrate incentive compatibility (IC) are introduced to study this system under asymmetric information and are established for G cµ scheduling when service times are homogeneous and customers atomistic. Grade IC induces correct grade choice resulting in perfect service discrimination; rate IC additionally induces centralized-optimal rates. Dynamic G cµ scheduling exhibits negative feedback that, together with time-dependent pricing, can also yield rate incentive compatibility with heterogeneous service times. Finally,multiplan pricing, which offers all customers amenu with a choice of multiple rate plans, is analyzed.