An effective pricing framework in a competitive industry: Management processes and implementation guidelines

In the quest to improve shareholder value companies in the past have primarily focused on cutting costs. However continuing cost reductions has its limit necessitating attention on revenue as well. An effective pricing framework helps companies ensure pricing strategy development and execution. The purpose of this article is to propose a conceptual framework for pricing strategy development and execution in a competitive industry. The framework introduced in this article consists of (1) a three-phased pricing management process of planning, execution and analysis; (2) a set of implementation guidelines ensuring completeness, accuracy, responsiveness and flexibility. Through an empirical case study, we demonstrate how a high-tech company using a series of business and IT initiatives successfully implemented the framework.