Why pay more? What "opaque hotel inventory" teaches us about brands and search costs
Since the 1970’s, the neo-liberal economic approach has viewed trademarks primarily through the lens of information. Underlying the value (read— “strength”) of a mark is the notion of search costs. A consumer, in deciding whether to buy a product, will typically seek relevant information about the product. However, because it can be costly and time-consuming to obtain the requisite information, a strong mark provides a short-hand form of information on which the consumer can rely in making his purchasing decision. One can ask for a watch, the company for which was founded by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, England in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis, engaged in importing Swiss watch movements to England and placing them in high-quality watch cases, which were then sold to jewelers who added their name on the watch dial. In 1919, the company, responding to high import tariffs, moved their operations to Geneva, from where it has turned its watch products into an international sta...