This dissertation investigates the issues of coordination mechanisms and dynamics of
pricing and channel interactions in a two-echelon supply chain, which consists of a common
retailer and two manufacturers producing short-life-cycle and substitutable products, and faces
price-sensitive market demand of these products. We seek managerial insights on these issues
through three independent but mutually related chapters. The dissertation first considers three coordination
models--revenue sharing, return policy, and combination of revenue sharing and return policy--and contrast them with a basic and
uncoordinated model. In each of the models, two manufacturers possess capacity uncertainties, the retailer faces
random demand of two products, and the manufacturers and the retailer are in a noncompetitive
setting. This portion of the dissertation establishes the common retailer's ordering and pricing decisions
in all the models, and analyzes the impact of three coordination mechanisms on the members' and
chainwide performances in consideration of the manufacturers being identical and nonidentical.

Next, we study competition on the manufacturers' channel choices and on the members' pricing
decisions in a deterministic environment under three vertical interactions: vertical-Nash,
manufacturer-Stackelberg, and retailer-Stackelberg. Since the advent of the Internet,
each manufacturer is endowed with three channel choices: (1) pure-retail channel, in which the manufacturers
sell their products through the common retailer;
(2) pure-direct channel, where the manufacturers directly access the customers without the retail
intermediary; and (3) hybrid channel, combining the previous two channel alternatives.
As a result, the members' pricing interaction may occur at both product and channel levels, and
the manufacturers choose the channel choice in the strategic channel game wherein nine pricing
subgames potentially emerge depending on the manufacturers' channel choices.
We develop the members' best-response functions to derive the equilibrium prices and performances
in all subgames; we establish the properties of the manufacturers' channel choices and all the
members' prices and performances in equilibrium with respect to the effects of the
substitutabilities, hybrid-channel joint effect, and percentage share of primary demand; and we
further see if and when the manufacturers' equilibrium channel choices align with the retailer's
channel preference.

Finally, the dissertation analyzes coordination and pricing competition simultaneously in an
environment with channel conflict and uncertain demand. The difference between the retailer's and
the manufacturers' independent decisions would amplify the ineffectiveness of the supply chain.
Hence, we will use a mechanism to coordinate the members' pricing and ordering decisions as well
as to increase the total supply chain performance to the chainwide optimality in the
consideration of direct sales. In summary, we design a coordination mechanism, formulate the
members' pricing interaction and profit functions, and derive the members' pricing decisions and
performances in equilibrium in the absence and presence of coordination. We also conduct
sensitive analysis of parameters through numerical studies to investigate the influences of the
parameters on the members' equilibrium decisions and profits and on the coordination scheme, and
explore the insights for the chain members.

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