COVID’s impact on small business: the case of SPR industries a distributor of PPEs

Theoretical basis The case delves into supply, demand, price gouging, hoarding and capabilities of the firm. The theories/concepts and a short overview are covered below. These theories and concepts are then referenced as appropriate in the “Answers to Discussion Questions” section as follows: Supply Demand Theory; Price Gouging, Speculation and Hoarding; Resources, Capabilities and Activities; Friedman’s and Porter’s view of goals of a firm; Corporate Social Responsibility. Research methodology The case was motivated after a discussion with Mr Matthew Roberts, who is the Chief Operating Officer of SPR Industries. Several subsequent interviews were conducted with Matt. Matt also became the chief protagonist of the case. Matt provided multiple quotes and anecdotes. The protagonist Matt and the focal organization (SPR Industries) are disguised. The financial figures have also been disguised using a multiplier. However, the material facts of the case are authentic. Case overview/synopsis This case sheds light on the impact of the COVID pandemic on a small business in the personal protective equipment industry. The students will get an understanding of the supply and demand forces in a market. Furthermore, the case bears out how unpredictable situations such as the pandemic lead to speculation and price gouging opportunities but not in all products affected by it. The case explores the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of firms regarding price gouging in their products. Students will also get an appreciation of how an industry and its participants change in response to such black swan events as the COVID pandemic. Finally, the case presents a small enterprise’s decision choices â?? Should they maintain the status quo, become a sub-broker or become a wholesaler. Complexity academic level This case is designed to target undergraduate students of strategic management or entrepreneurship. It could be appropriate for upper level courses such as Strategic Management, Small Business Management and maybe even Family Business Management. It could be taught in the latter half of the course after the basic concepts have been covered. This case could bring together many of the concepts into a real-life setting.

Perilous Fires, Pandemics and Price Gouging: The Need to Protect Consumers from Unfair Pricing Practices during Times of Crisis

Recent crises affecting Australia, including the Black Summer bushfires and Coronavirus pandemic, have devastated social morale and crippled our economy. Countless lives and properties have been damaged or lost. These conditions have inflated demand for basic consumer goods and services, such as hygiene products, staple foods, and utility services. Sadly, some sellers have exploited public desperation, with widespread reports of price gouging. This notorious practice involves pricing high-demand essentials at levels significantly higher than what is commonly considered acceptable, reasonable or fair. This article critically analyses moral and economic arguments surrounding statutory controls before proposing a model law regulating price gouging during times of crisis. It argues that such a law is both essential and easily adaptable to Australia’s consumer law framework. The model law provides a basis for the federal government to consider desperately required change to ensure consumers do not suffer during current crises or those to come.

SPATIO-TEMPORAL STUDY OF THE DETERMINANTS OF RESIDENTIAL SATISFACTION IN NEW YORK CITY DURING COVID-19 USING CROWDSOURCED DATA

Residential satisfaction, an indicator of the quality of life, can be conceptualized with the objective and subjective evaluation of the physical and ecological characteristics of dwellings and neighbourhoods. The majority of the New Yorkers remained indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing the importance of the residential environment and satisfaction like never before. Noise and safety are two major determinants of residential satisfaction that changed much during the pandemic lockdown. We used citizen-generated non-emergency (NYC311) and emergency (NYPD911) complaint data to investigate the spatial and temporal change dynamics of complaints related to noise and safety. In the noise domain, we focused on NYC311 complaints associated with the noise from neighbours, streets, and illegal fireworks. In the safety domain, we examined the change of both physical and economic safety. For physical safety, we used the NYPD 911 data related to burglary and vehicle larceny, where for economic safety, we used NYC311 complaints correspond to price gouging. We spatially aggregated the complaints at the census tract level (total = 2123) and performed Welsch’s t-test to identify the change dynamics of the satisfaction during the pandemic for different socioeconomic factors. We found the overall residential satisfaction decreased during the pandemic with extreme noise exposure and inadequate safety. The study also found the economic and racial disparity in residential satisfaction during the pandemic, as with statistical significance, the complaints regarding noise, physical and financial safety generated from the Black, Latinx, and impoverished communities were significantly higher than White, Asian and affluent communities.

Crisis Prices: The Ethics of Market Controls during a Global Pandemic

SARS-CoV-2 has unleashed an unprecedented global crisis that has caused the demand for essential goods, such as medical and sanitation products, to soar while simultaneously disrupting the very supply chains that allow individuals and institutions to obtain those essential goods. This has resulted in stark price increases and accusations of price gouging. We survey the existing philosophical literature that examines price gouging and identify the key arguments for regulators permitting such behavior and for regulators restricting such behavior. We demonstrate how the existing accounts are designed for localized emergencies rather than global persistent crises such as the coronavirus pandemic. In light of this, we highlight an understudied justification for price gouging that is much more salient during global crises: incentivizing increased production of essential goods. Furthermore, we pinpoint three conditions that help determine whether authorities should restrict price gouging during the coronavirus pandemic and similar global crises.

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.: stock price estimation in the midst of pandemic

This case concerns an analyst’s task to value Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., the largest and only publicly traded U.S. egg production firm. The case takes place in 2020, at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Historically volatile egg prices were even more volatile in April 2020, with a large spike in prices that led the state of Texas to sue the firm for price gouging. Added to this, Cal-Maine had an unexpectedly bad earnings report a few months earlier, and prior to that, the firm cut its dividend. How should the analyst incorporate these shocks – or should they be included at all? How can the analyst assess the risk of a company that has volatile revenues and costs and a widely varying beta? Which factors is the analysis most sensitive to? Was the market overvaluing Cal-Maine? Or, was there potential for investors to profit from investing in the firm?

Algorithmic Pricing and Price Gouging. Consequences of High-Impact, Low Probability Events

Algorithmic pricing may lead to more efficient and contestable markets, but high-impact, low-probability events such as terror attacks or heavy storms may lead to price gouging, which may trigger injunctions or get sellers banned from platforms such as Amazon or eBay. This work addresses how such events may impact prices when set by an algorithm and how different markets may be affected. We analyze how to mitigate these high-impact events by paying attention to external (market conditions) and internal (algorithm design) features surrounding the algorithms. We find that both forces may help in partially mitigating price gouging, but it remains unknown which forces or features may lead to complete mitigation.